“Not Called to be Perfect – Called to be Faithful”

Perhaps you can relate to words that sound like: people-pleaser, performer, over-achiever, perfectionist, workaholic … these had been the descriptive words of my life. Quite honestly, it wasn’t until the most recent handful of years that I’d come to realize that I had been striving with myself – over who I thought I was supposed to be.

Being an avid reader (thank GOD for the miraculous invention of the tablet reader and digital storage devices), I have found comfort and solace in knowing that I don’t walk this journey alone. In fact, I seem to be in quite good company.

Nonetheless, it’s tiresome and frustrating.

I’ve come to understand that being a first-born to Asian immigrant parents kind of sets me up. My cultural DNA dictates that excellence comes at a high price – lots and lots of studying while managing lots and lots of extracurricular activities. Being well-versed in multiple disciplines while excelling in a single field of endeavor that brings honor and respect to the family. I’m not dismissing any of my traditional upbringing – in fact, I treasure every minute and distinguishing detail of it, passing many aspects on to my own children.

However, in the hot pursuit of seeking approval and acceptance, I got lost. Literally lost myself. Working hard doesn’t have to mean that you work hard to be a version of someone else or a fictional character that you’ve conjured up in your mind that somehow represents the ideal you. Nor does hard work require you to sacrifice rest, self-care and solace.

The best representation of you is being the genuine you that GOD designed from the beginning. Let that sit with you for a moment.

There is no better version of you than what GOD masterfully created. In order to find that person, you have to look to the Person to whom you belong. And get this, Friend, you were created in His Image: imago dei. That should blow your socks off!

No need to argue with the Creator about why you may not look like this person or that person – the comparison is not in the exterior appearance to another human being. In reality, you are the image or reflection of the GOD that lovingly knitted you in the womb. We are all simply packaged uniquely different.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 NLT

Seeking to out-perform or overachieve to be more acceptable or approved is like chasing the wind. You never succeed because it’s truly not going to add value to who you are. There is nothing wrong with having a mindset of working from a place of excellence. That’s called integrity. But beware that your goal should not become to outdo or produce for the sake of attention, notoriety or fame.

Being faithful to who we are meant to be is being authentic. And being faithful to that original design is giving GOD the praise for His Design. Staying true to our quirkiness (and we all have them – some more than others), gifts of humor, artistry, friendship, hospitality, ingenuity, inventiveness, creativity, musicality, athleticism, intelligence (notice how I said that word last) … whatever you seem to naturally lean into and gravitate towards, is likely the way that you should go.

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Jeremiah 1:5a NLT

My only regret was in not discovering this person much sooner. I may not have wasted so much precious time trying to be what was never meant for me to be in the first place. It’s very likely I would have spared myself from many, many frustrated years of feeling inadequate when all I really needed to do was look up.

If you’re in a place that just feels so, so difficult and awkward – and no one seems to understand your frustration, there is One Who does and has always been there. He longs to have you let Him in and be part of your journey moving forward so that you can live freely without the worldly condemnation of comparison and competition.

The anxiety will begin to leave you. The self-hatred will cease. The determination to be perfect will fade. Peace will overwhelm you. Joy will fill your soul. Enthusiasm to tell others will not be squelched. Life will have new meaning, because you will be a new person.

 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

In and of ourselves, we cannot put our shattered life back together. Like a war-torn soldier on a battlefield, we tread through life battered and beaten by circumstances and people who inflict them. Jesus is the only Person who can make your brokenness meaningful and heal those wounds.

 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 NLT

The Greek word for lost: ἀπόλλυμι literally means being violently destroyed. Jesus came to rescue us from being utterly destroyed by all the ugliness of the world, including our preconceived notions of how we should look, appear and perform. And when He came to do that, He promised to protect those whom He saved. We’re not left to figure out life or fend for ourselves once we have our “come to Jesus meeting.” He even showed us the way to keep going. If we’re sincere, we have the joy of getting to know Him better and that’s when things turn around.

It is my prayer, Sweet Friend, that you will take this moment to just pause and examine where your life is headed. Ask yourself those hard questions. Feel free to ask GOD hard questions – because He can and will answer them. You won’t regret it.

Come and see what GOD will do with your faithfulness. It will far outweigh any level of perfection (or attempted perfection) you could ever imagine.

I love you to Heaven and Back, Girlfriend ~

LindaRJohnson, TitusTwo Visionary