I read a post by Faithful Recovery called Imperfect. She examines two stories written almost 140 years apart, exploring how the power of perfection influences two different men. One ends in tragedy and the other with a powerful lesson.
Faithful Recovery ends the piece with this compelling truth:
Our imperfections are not mistakes.
They’re not accidents.
They’re part of God’s design.
The world praises physical perfection.
God calls us to meet imperfection with grace.
It reminded me of a poem I had written years ago. That poem, Perfection, I have posted below.
Thank you, Faithful Recovery, for such an inspiring and revelatory post which brought this back to mind!
Am I not looking—looking to achieve
Perfection the world wants—what it so desperately needs
A perfection it yearns for—what it thinks it deserves
What it cannot acquire yet constantly serves
Like a bullet through the heart, through time and space
Past the coils of life—through gestures, nods and superfluous gates
Guarding affections, guarding the heart
Steel strong shields—a rich man’s rampart
Plastic smiles, contemptuous guise,
illustrious masks intricately designed
Whitewashed catacombs of the walking dead
Represented as fine art in a collector’s shed
Time unravels, peeling paint, broken fences, broken gates
Locks torn open, curtains in two, windows broken, exposing the truth
Of perfection’s illusion, of perfection’s cruel hoax,
From its tonic we drink, so drunk that we choke
Choke on its lies, choke ‘til we die
Die from within til it reaches outside
Banished like lepers rejected, diseased
No longer relevant—society’s ill-ease
“But the Lord said to Samuel,
‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature,
because I have rejected him.
For the Lord sees not as man sees:
man looks on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks on the heart.’”
— 1 Samuel 16:7
Thank you for sharing Imperfect, Laura. I'm continually blessed by your friendship and support. I'm also blown away by your poem! In particular, the lines: Of perfection’s illusion, of perfection’s cruel hoax, From its tonic we drink, so drunk that we choke. That line brings to mind the tonic Alymer gave his wife. To remove one tiny flaw, he destroyed what was already perfect.
How many years did I spend relentlessly pursuing perfection? Years that almost destroyed me. So many. I'm so grateful that through God's grace I learned that imperfection isn't a flaw; it's part of God's design, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” 2 Corinthians 12:9.
The Lord looks on the heart.
☝️ this is very meaningful 😊 🙏 thank you for sharing