There was a day, not that long ago, when we worked extremely hard at being the perfect couple, the perfect homeowners, the perfect friends, and of course, the perfect parents. When it came to our children and how they were dressed, how they behaved, and how we looked as parents, we nearly obsessed over having it all “together!” Especially in public places.
But when the perfection road dead-ended (and it always did), we became frustrated. Sometimes very frustrated.
We couldn’t understand how putting all of this time and energy into our life didn’t equal out to perfect results. Why did we still have disagreements and fights in our marriage? Why did our home always seem to be trashed? Why was our schedule still chaotic and rushed? And why, for goodness sake, did our children still misbehave, make bad choices, and embarrass us in public?
Why?
The answer was quite simple……we’re human beings and we’re not perfect. Nor will we ever be.
Try as we may, we will never have the perfect marriage, the perfect home, the perfect schedule, or the perfect children who rise in the morning with a smile and pleasant attitude and embrace us with thanksgiving in their hearts for all we’ve done for them. After all, they’re not perfect either :-).
We’re all broken. We’re all a mess. Not one of the 7 billion of us on this spinning planet is completely okay (by perfection’s standard).
When we stopped and really looked at our lives, and realized we were chasing a rainbow by striving for perfection, we found peace. We realized the key to true peace was found in being okay with not being okay.
Let me say that again- we found peace by being okay with not being okay.
…okay with not having perfect children!
…okay with not having a perfect house!
…okay with not having the perfect marriage!
…okay not looking like, acting like, or being the perfect human beings…or the perfect parents!
If you want to find true peace as a parent, a husband, a wife, or a human being…you have to be okay with not being okay. You have to be okay with the brokenness that comes with being a human being. It will change the way you see your life!
Question- Are you okay with not being okay? What has prevented you from finding this peace in your life, or your parenting?
