Good Enough

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 ESV

“Share your weaknesses. Share your hard moments. Share your real side. It’ll either scare away every fake person in your life or it will inspire them to finally let go of that mirage called “perfection,” which will open the doors to the most important relationships you’ll ever be a part of.”
― Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing

Spring cleaning! I’m committed to driving dirt from my home so I can play in garden dirt all summer. Fall cleaning isn’t as ambitious but with the holidays appearing right after Halloween, cleaning will be a “lick and a promise.” And the late comedian, George Carlin said, “Your house will never be absolutely clean.” Truth. And we will never be absolutely clean without Jesus.

Or, “close counts.” True for Horseshoes and hand grenades. Works for spring cleaning too. But close will not work with the Father.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Nothing else is good enough.

When I strive for perfection, it never happens.

Perfect means complete in the Bible. We are complete when we depend on Jesus. Jesus said, “Without me, you can do nothing.” We are free to get back up and start again because we depend on Jesus, not ourselves. We are free to risk. We are free to love, after all, Jesus is Love. And importantly, we learn to laugh at some of our mistakes. Taking ourselves too seriously means we’ve replaced our Father with another—Ourselves!

We need a sense of humor! Let’s learn from this old vaudeville performer:

Charlie Chaplin once told a joke in front of an audience.

Everyone laughed.

And he brought it back for the second time, so only some laughed.

When he brought it back for the third time, no one laughed.

Then he said beautiful lines:

“If you can’t laugh and laugh at the same joke, why do you cry and cry for the same grief and affliction?”

So enjoy every moment of your life – Charlie Chaplin left leaving a great legacy without saying a word or hurting anyone’s feelings. We remember these sentences that touch the heart.

Musings

Our Father is totally aware of our sins, flaws and shortcomings. We need to view our frustrations, tantrums and challenges with a light hand and heart remembering who is Creator and who is not. We need to focus on being excellent and joyful for one day. Tomorrow is not ours.

We are good enough because of Jesus’ work on the cross and the Holy Spirit who abides in us. Today and always.

Prayer

Dear Father,

Thank you for Your Son, Jesus, who completes us and our works. We have grown so much because of this. Help us to view ourselves and our foibles, quirks, losses and mistakes with grace and a sense of humor. Help us do this with others too. Most people are doing the very best they can, which includes us. Trying to be perfect interferes with love for you, others and ourselves.

Amen.