Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Unattainable

First Posted on November 25, 2009


I am not perfect, neither are you.  And that is ok.  We are who we are, imperfect children.  There are many things that may seem unattainable in our lives, and some of them we may truly never attain.  I am 100% sure that in my lifetime I will not become perfect.  I will always fail at something.  But knowing that you will or may not be able to achieve something is not a reason not to try.  I was thinking about my house today.  I have been organizing, cooking, cleaning and taking care of children all day, and there are still dirty dishes in the sink, toys on the floor of nearly every room, and clothes in the dryer.  I am starting to realize that having a completely clean and organized house while having two very small sons may be something that will never be achieved for more than 10 minute stretches of time.  But I will keep trying.  Because although I may never attain it, all the effort I put in will continue to bring me closer and closer to my goal.  
This makes me think of Proverbs 31 and how many hours we as women have wasted trying to be just like “The Proverbs 31 Woman”.  First of all I personally do not believe this woman EVER existed.  Proverbs 31:10 starts out saying “A wife of noble character who can find?  She is worth far more than rubies.”  If the woman described in the following passages actually existed it would have started with, “I have found a wife of noble character”.  Although this passage gives a good example of what we should be like as wives and mothers, if we spend time trying to be just like her, we are missing what God has for us.  Even if she did exist, God gave her a calling and had plans specific to her.  Chances are you have a different calling and God has plans specifically made for your life using your gifts.  
There are things in this world that regardless of how impossible they are to attain, it is essential for us to try.  We will never achieve the perfection that is Jesus, but we try everyday to be just like Him and walk in His ways.  When the Lord reveals to us His plans and His purpose for our lives although we may never see them completed (remember Moses never made it to the promised land) we will find satisfaction and live a life that glorifies Him when we constantly work towards fulfilling that which He has laid out before us.  If you’re not sure what God has for you, ask Him today.  In His time and in His own way He will reveal it to you.
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection!  But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.  No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing:  Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.
Philippians 3:12-14 NLT
For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

10 comments:

  1. Beautiful post and oh so true! For years I used to compare my house to the unattainable: My Mom's! It took me a long time to realize that I have four kids at home, I homeschool AND I spend more time relaxing than she does! Someday my house will be really clean and I am not looking forward to those days.

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  2. " I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." Thank you for that! it's the only race we should be running...yet through trying to achieve perfection, as the world sees it...we miss it, don't we?!! I always love your posts...

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  3. Jeremiah 29:11 is atop my list of favorite verses. Thank you for sharing!
    Happy WFW...

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  4. Jesus never said perfect...He said simply "follow me...." LOVED this!! So, so good!

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  5. Great post!!

    joy & blessings,
    Alida

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  6. Pressing on toward the mark of our High Calling in Christ Jesus our Lord...
    Great Post!
    ~Stacy

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  7. Thanks for the encouragement to keep running! So often I feel like I am just running circles, not accomplishing anything, and then I end up frustrated and taking that out on the very people I've been entrusted with to love, serve, and lead.

    I think I need to spend lots of time meditating on those verses!

    Blessings,
    Melissa
    www.sistersncloth.com

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  8. Wonderful post! I am a perfectionist by nature, and motherhood has made me realize that perfection is highly overrated. We do the best we can. We be the women God has called us individually to be...leaning always on our Father. He is perfect, and He fills in the gaps that we can't fill. We just keep pressing on. :)

    Amy (I found you via Wednesday Word)

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  9. Thanks for the reminder that I am not called to be perfect. I am struggling with getting our home into the state of "clean and organized" that I would like for it to be too! I keep working, though, and we're making slow progress. I keep trying to arrange my days by asking God what He wants me to do. If I spend my day doing that, I know I'm in good shape!

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  10. Terrific reminder to not bow to the altar of perfection through our humanistic efforts. I think I do that all the time. Letting God mold me and make me, while I do what I can do to be diligent, allows a peace to be present in the midst of our chaos. :)

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