We live in a world saturated with images and stories of people who seem perfect, or at least closer to it than we are. Brand-new moms with impossibly flat bellies. Successful CEOs who still have time to keep their homes magazine-perfect and throw Pinterest-worthy parties. Carefree world travelers whose entire lives seem Instagrammable. Christians who never seem to lose their faith. And, of course, parents who never lose their cool in front of their kids.
One of my favorite writers Glennon Doyle says that we should be careful not to make the mistake of comparing our whole lives to someone else’s “highlight reel.”
No matter how perfect someone else’s life may seem, the reality is messier for everyone — no exceptions. The truth is that no one’s life is perfect because perfection does not actually exist; and so our efforts at perfection are destined to fail, leaving us exhausted, defeated, and resentful of anyone who seems to have what we don’t.
God calls us to a life beyond perfection, rooted in the goodness of God’s grace.
This message is adapted from “Beyond Perfection” by Meghan Johnston Aelabouni in the December 2018 issue of Café. Today is the fourth Sunday after Epiphany. We remember Ansgar, bishop of Hamburg, missionary to Denmark and Sweden, who died in 865.
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