May 19, 2016
Life is not perfect. For anyone. Someone has to say it. But it can still be extremely good. It can be happy. Despite the imperfections we see in our lives and in ourselves.
My house is nothing like a magazine. Our furniture is almost entirely second hand, much of it… “free”. It’s sparcely decorated, and not because we’re trying to be hipster ultra-minimalists. We’re just poor [and my husband is still in] college… trying to raise a young family.
We don’t go hog wild with our expenses. We try to live within our means and we don’t try to “keep up with the Jones’…”
My clothes are purchased at our local grocery-super store. I don’t think I have to spell out which one for you, and I don’t mind people knowing where (it just feels weird to sound like I’m an ad in the newspaper!)
My kids do not look like Baby Gap models. They swing back and forth between well behaved sweethearts and Tasmanian devils kicking up clouds of dust and leaving the house looking like a tornado just blew through. They play in the dirt and the mud (which actually I love that they do!) They forget to pick up their toys regularly and I have to remind them regularly. They are anything but “perfect” by magazine standards but they’re perfect for me. They have their Mama’s love of outdoors, fresh air and nature. They love gardening (mostly digging in the dirt, which usually involves unearthing portions of my vegetable garden!) They love music and love to sing. They love art and creativity. They love farms and farm life. They are my perfect match.
My husband works hard and is very supportive but we’re not the picture perfect magazine couple, but that’s okay because we’re two individuals with completely different ways of doing things, but completely in love and committed to each other, determined to always be each other’s best friend, who are learning how to work together as a team and we like the challenge of that journey. Our mutual goal is to arrive at the same place – together. Truth be told, he says romantic things much more often than I remember to!! He’s the one who always says, “I’m going to love you forever.” And the more comical, but still romantic, “Sorry, you can’t return me. You lost the receipt and it’s been longer than 90 days. You’re stuck with me forever!” Haha!
My life is anything but perfect and anything but easy. I have a dump truck sized load of challenges and obstacles. I have my bad days. Most of my days are rough. But the days when things are more kind to me are the sweetest ever to be tasted.
We most definitely have our bad days, trying days, testing days, exhausting days. But we also have extremely good days, not perfect, but so close it could take our breath away.
I’m not perfect. I would like to be and that is a goal, though not in the way most people think. I want to be perfectly loving. Perfectly grateful. Perfectly kind. Perfectly generous. Perfectly patient and understanding. Perfectly thoughtful. Perfectly brave. Perfectly optimistic and full of hope and faith. Perfectly at peace with others. Perfectly skilled at always making the right choice even when it’s difficult or unpopular. Perfectly patient with myself. Perfectly me. That’s probably not going to happen completely in this life, but I am also perfectly okay with being okay with, “You’re doing your best and that’s enough for right now in this moment and today.”
Practice makes perfect and building character takes time and patience. We should never put ourselves down for not being more than we are when we’re sincerely doing our personal best. That is enough. Our best is enough. And if we keep at it, we’ll keep improving little by little and that’s all anyone can ask of us. That’s all God asks of us. “Our perfect father does not expect us to be perfect children yet. He had only one such Child. Meanwhile, therefore, sometimes with smudges on our cheeks, dirt on our hands, and shoes untied, stammeringly but smilingly we present God with a dandelion—as if it were an orchid or a rose! . . . [and] He receives it.” — Neal A. Maxwell.
We take the bitter with the sweet. We make the most of each day.
Notes / My Thoughts
–Appreciation For Our Real Lives–
–The Authenticity Beautiful Life–
–This Life I Live–
Family
Marriage
Motherhood
Simple things
Slow down
–Through My Eyes–
Finer things in life
Hidden beauties
Blessings in disguise
–Breaking Stigmas–
–Perfectly Imperfect–
