by Emily Conrad

When I first decided to write this post, I wanted to title it “Perfection Isn’t Always An Option.”

Telling, isn’t it? That proposed title reveals my tendency of believing that sometimes, if I try hard enough, I can acheive perfection. And of course, if perfection is an option, that’s what I want.

But the pursuit of perfection by effort leaves me tied up in knots.

When I’m under the sway of perfectionism, I work much longer than I initially planned on a project–until heavy doom tells me I’ll never attain my goal.

I bury my talents, failing to move forward when I’m called to because even after my long hours, I know my efforts are flawed.

I obsess over mistakes and turn failures into a reason to avoid the endeavor altogether next time. Because when perfection is the goal, failure is to be avoided at all costs.

Have you been there, too? Are you there now in some area of your life?

 
This topic is on my mind not only because I’ve felt those knots tighten in an area or two of my life, but also because I’ve been reading Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson and listening to Emily P. Freeman’s podcast The Next Right Thing.

Chapter four of the book and episode 73 of the podcast dovetailed nicely to impress upon me the importance of not waiting for or expecting perfection before following a call to present a work to the world.

These reminders were a breath of fresh air.

You see, that feeling of doom I sense when I’ve given into perfectionism is actually well-founded.

I’m human. I will never achieve perfection on my own.

That realization in itself is freeing, because if I’ll never get there anyway, I can stop obsessing over it.

But the good news doesn’t stop there.

Success doesn’t depend on a person’s ability to achieve perfection.

Quite the opposite. A pursuit of perfection can keep us from moving forward when we’re called to. We cannot succeed if perfectionism keeps us tied in place, too tangled to move forward.

My success and yours depends instead on the perfect God and His perfect grace.

The end result is always–and has always been–in His nail pierced hands.

Where we are weak and imperfect, He is strong and perfect, always able. By grace, our imperfect offerings will be used.

I know this. I’ve written it, or something very like it, before. Several times before.

But perfectionism isn’t a once-and-done battle for me. Its cords constantly loop around my feet, tripping me up. I keep finding different areas of my life where I need to apply these truths. To my writing, to my relationships, to my work for church.

That’s why I’m grateful to (and telling you about) Adorning the Dark and The Next Right Thing podcast. That’s why I’m risking writing to you again about a topic I’ve covered many, many times before.

Jesus, the perfect One, has already paid the price for all of our failures. When we came to Him in faith, He washed us clean, and there’s now no condemnation for us in Him. He is strong when we are weak.

Pursue excellence. Exert conscientious effort. But let Jesus’s nail-pierced hands untie the knots of perfectionism once more so you can move forward, free in grace.

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Photo credits
Wound rope photo by Amir R on Unsplash

Man pulling rope photo by Stijn Swinnen on Unsplash