Far From Perfect

I'm not so sure why I'm writing about that Proverbs 31 woman.  You know, that Mrs. Perfect who has a spotless home, impeccable taste, boundless energy and talent, poised, and sweet as honey? I am just so far from being like her, that the more I read about her, the more sure I am that if I get to meet her, really meet her in person, I would most likely be reduced to two inches tall (or should I say short? or shorter? I mean, I am already short!).

Hamming it up while hubby was feeding
the kids during lunch.

I have my own share of embarrassment and guilt over my imperfections. Let's see... Just recently,  I scorched a whole tender salmon to charcoal that it was hardly recognizable much more taste like one. And from the crunching and wincing that I heard and saw around the table, it could be mistaken as fire crackers exploding in our mouths during New Year. I guess, my mom-in-law was thinking that I watch too much kid's cartoons on TV with the children to have burned up the fish.

I admit I like cartoons... and Snoopy comic strips. I do waste my time. I also waste money on stuff with brand tags, lose things, get feisty, and forget people. Unlike Mrs. Perfection of Proverbs 31, my kids sometimes go without breakfast as I don't even know what food people eat in the early part of the day, and c'mon, don't judge me, it's really hard to wake up in the morning when it's still dark. Mornings are supposed to start when the sun is out! I don't want to mention the laundry, but it's so tall that it stands like a monument in our home, a monument of a never-ending chore or of slob-ness.

I am not proud of my imperfections. They often get me down but I am glad that I serve a God, One who is willing to be identified as the God of imperfect people and who can still perfectly love these people.

He is the God of Abraham, the Abraham who lied to Pharaoh about his wife (Genesis 12:12, 13), and who still protected them and love them despite of their cowardice. He is also the God of Jacob a deceiver, David an adulterer and murderer,  Rahab a prostitute,  Saul a man full of hatred, Peter the disloyal, Zacchaeus the cheater, Mary the adulterous woman, and a host of other people that the Bible is full of, that I sometimes get horrified reading about these people and wonder how in the world they got mentioned there.

But they got mentioned, all right, to tell us that no matter our imperfections, God loves us and wants to be our perfection. We have a choice. We can choose to do better. And God empowers our choices. With our weak will united with His almighty power, we can be Mrs Perfect, the Proverbs 31 woman, the one who got it all put together. We can wake up early to prepare breakfast for our household, use our time and resources wisely, give when it's not easy to give, be kind when our gut tells us to be a shrew, and do what we are meant to do. Yes, all we need is to recognize our imperfections and allow Him to love and live and work in us.

And time. It doesn't take overnight to be Mrs. Perfect. We need to be willing to spend time in God's presence, to spend time to know His plan, to spend time to try His way, to spend time to be amazed, to laugh, to cry, and to even just be quiet.

I am glad that we could always have a fresh supply of Jesus everyday and have His grace that will always be sufficient for our needs (2 Corinthians 12:9), for when we recognize our imperfection, we seek His perfection. And... "being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you (in us) will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6. Need I say more? Just perfect!




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