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10.11.2010

perfection.

Have you read this post by Single Dad Laughing titled "The Disease called Perfection"? (Click HERE to read it.)  It's grand.  Along with a lot of his other posts.  Not everything he says on his blog is right on tap with what I believe.  Like, I'm not sure about embracing my weaknesses.  I think that we can admit that we have weaknesses, so that we can look to Christ and have Him help us overcome them. 
Ether 12:27"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
My opinion is this...I do think that this life is a journey toward perfection, but I think that what this world perceives as perfect is different than that perfection that God asks us to strive for.  In the words of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin:
"Indeed, the Savior Himself admonished us to strive to be “perfect, even as [our] Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). As much as we want to obey that commandment, however, we also understand the difficulty of attaining perfection in this life.

To that end I am grateful for the insight of Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who has written: “In the Greek from which it was translated, the term perfect in Matthew 5:48 [Matt. 5:48] … means ‘fully developed,’ to become ‘finished’ as to our individual potential and to have ‘completed’ the course God has set forth for us to follow. … All of the godly attributes, to the degree developed through our ‘diligence and obedience,’ will actually rise with us in the resurrection, giving us ‘so much the advantage in the world to come’ (D&C 130:19)” (Men and Women of Christ

Perfection is worth striving for even if it is ultimately unattainable in this life. For it is through our struggle to become like the Savior and His Father that we ourselves become perfected. If we follow the pattern that Christ set for us, we will be responding to the scriptural mandate to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him” (Moro. 10:32)."[1991], 21–22). 
Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Guided by His Exemplary Life,” Liahona, Feb 1999, 34
Does that make me feel like I need to be perfect?  In a way.  But does it make you feel like I need to like up to the standards the world has set for the perfect body and the perfect hair and the perfect husband and the perfect children?  No, it makes me feel supported in my life journey.  It makes me want to be what the LORD wants me to be, not what the WORLD wants me to be.  And I believe that is good.

I readily agree with is opinion that people need to be more "real."  Then, we could all feel a little better about not being so perfect.  I think, aside from the Savior, we would find that...no one is.


If I told you some of my imperfections, you would find that...
I spend to much time on the computer, and sometimes my child plays by herself on the living room floor while I am sitting at the keyboard.  Which she is doing right now. 
I criticize my husband about...A LOT, for really small things that don't matter and for really large things too, and sometimes I criticize him to or in front of other people. (sorry babe,  that one I'm working on).
I am awful at calling friends and family.
I have a bad habit of starting things and never finishing them.
I have a fear of calling even good friends to ask them to hang out or do me a favor.
I don't save money, if I am given a wad of cash to do what I want with (or even sometimes grocery money), I will spend it within a couple days on clothes, crafts, or fast food (so thank goodness for a husband that saves).
I LOVE fast food, even greasy McDonald's cheeseburgers.
I love junk food.
I am not a flexible person, I try to be, but when things are not going my way, or shall we say the way I have planned, I tend to get uptight and even angry.
I wish I had bigger boobs.
I swear, usually under my breath, sometimes out loud, when I get hurt or mad or even inconvenienced.
I get so frustrated when my house is NOT organized.
I judge people.
I gossip.
I laugh at dirty jokes.
I chuck things when I'm really mad.

Okay...I think that's a long enough list for today.  And... there are other imperfections that I just won't tell.  I will never admit them here, and no one needs to know besides me and God.  I hope I have made some of you feel that you are not alone in some of your imperfections.  So with all that said...
 
Go.  Read it.  Tell me what you think.  Please.  I'm curious.

6 comments:

Holly said...

Laura,

What a great post! I read his blog once in a while and had missed that one. Thanks for the link! How refreshing for all of us to know NO ONE is perfect, and as long as we are trying our best it's good enough! I recently listened to the talk by John Lund, "The Myth we Call Perfection" it changed my life! ;) Here's to ALL of us imperfect mothers, wives, friends, sisters, women & men for that matter who are perfectly imperfect!

Anonymous said...

I needed to read this today! I have struggled with this my whole life. I admire your strength to admit some of your weaknesses. That takes a lot of courage to admit that you aren't perfect. And I'm sure you can relate to the fact that because we have degrees in EC/SE, we should be super mom's and have it all together...let's just say that's been a HUGE eye opener for me to realize, my kids are all different and they are not exactly like the kids I've read about in textbooks...I could go on and on and on...anyways...thank you from the bottom of my heart for posting this and leading me to that so that I could read it and be strengthened today, I was trying to describe this yesterday to someone and I couldn't find the right words but this is what I wanted to say what that blog post said. And by the way, I look up to you even more now even knowing that you have weaknesses ;) It's nice to not feel alone or that it's okay to not have a perfect life...

Unknown said...

I loved that post when he first put it up, it totally hit home.

Then I read your list. every single one of them, every one, is my life. Wow who knew there was someone else out there who felt the same way as I did about SO many things. hello A cup ;)

Thank you so much for being brave and sharing this

The Beck Bunch said...

I love it!! I wish I could come out and admit my imperfections. I probably don't even know the half of them, when I ask Brian he never says anything... EVER! He's too good to me! I still love you even though you're not "perfect"!!!

Nikki said...

I love reading your blog, I've only met you once at Terra's house, but I also spend too much time on the computer and love to check in on your blog every now and again, especially since we have babies about the same age. This was a great post and I can honestly say "me too" to most of the things you posted about. It is nice to know that when we think we are alone, others feel the same way.
Nikki K.

Trapper and Suzy said...

LoL You are so funny. Really? Bigger boobs? If anything, I'd want my boobs to have some lift in them again. I'm pretty sure I'll be one of those grannies with saggy boobs.
Anyway, you're awesome for posting this. I guess this is one reason I've stopped blogging about myself. So, if you were here, I'd stand up and clap for you. Way to go for blasting everyone out of the park and making yourself more real! I admire that.