We live in a society of cheerful Facebook statuses, unattainable perfection via Pinterest and constant comparison to others thanks to the in-our-faces photoshopped bodies on billboards and newsstands. Perfection is impossible and yet, looking around, it can be easy to feel like others are closer to achieving it than we are.
I’ve written before about the perceptions of perfection that exist in our mommy comparison world and the mommy guilt that can paralyze us. It’s something that continues to pop up for me. At times, I think that I have worked past caring what others think of me or trying to live up to an impossible standard, but then there are moments when I realize that I really do think that I am a worse mom than fantastic-friend-Fran or a worse wife than next-door-Nancy. I know without a doubt that I am a worse housekeeper than sweet-sister-Sue!
Lately, the stresses have been piling up around me and instead of giving myself grace, I find myself feeling like I should be doing more, being better, working harder.
Maybe today you find yourself feeling like you don’t measure up. Maybe you think that you will never get further ahead than you are now. Maybe you are afraid to give your best because you are terrified that if you do, the world will find out that even your best isn’t good enough.
I have some words to say to you today that I know to be true.
You are not perfect, but you are enough.
You are not where you want to be in your life, but you are where you need to be.Â
You are not doing it all, but you are doing something.
And that is enough.
(click on image above to download a printable version of the You are enough poster)
God accepts you just as you are. You probably read that line and moved on, but I challenge you to really think about that. How many people in our lives can we say truly accept us exactly the way we are? How many are not trying to change us or perpetrate their own agendas? But God ACCEPTS YOU. Just as you are. Right now. Really. Rest in that for a minute.
You are enough.
When the to-do list is getting longer by the hour and you’ve already failed at your New Year’s Resolutions by the 7th of January, you are enough.
When you are being criticized by those who are supposed to be your biggest supporters, you are enough.
When you feel alone, you are enough.
When the day is long and your patience is short, you are enough.
When you just can’t seem to get it right, you are enough.
When you feel like everyone else has it figured out or is in on some secret you’re not privy to, you are enough.
When the hurt is bigger than it feels like your heart can hold, you are enough.
When there are so many people counting on you that you feel inadequate and ill-equipped, you are enough.
When the battle before you feels beyond the bounds of possibility and all seem lost, you are enough.
When you hear news that rips the floor out from underneath you and you know nothing will ever be the same, you are enough.
When you don’t do it right or don’t finish what you started, you are enough.
When you don’t have it in you to take one more step, you are enough.
When just today seems impossible, you are enough.
You are enough because He is enough.
(click on image above to download a printable version of the Because He is enough poster)
My friend, you are not alone.