Wishing You A Gloriously Imperfect Christmas

Y'all I feel like I've been going nonstop for the past few weeks. I have baked until I can't bake anymore, I've wrapped my little fingers to the bone, I've decorated and then redecorated, but between work and keeping up at home, I've been so busy that I haven't really had time to enjoy any of it. And you know, it's really my fault.

I'm not very good at sitting still or relaxing. When I sit down, all I can think about is all there is to do. Laundry, dishes, presents to be wrapped, those last minute gifts to grab, papers to grade, toys to be picked up . . . I have a huge problem with perfectionism and with having to have everything finished perfectly before I can relax. And every woman knows that "it" is never all finished. I'm finally starting to see this as a problem, and not as something good. I'm not talking about excellence. I'm not talking about doing your best. I'm talking about always having to have everything perfect to the point of driving everyone else crazy. I'm talking about comparing yourself to everyone and everything else and trying to decide if you measure up.

Y'all I've come to a point where I know I have to stop. I've got to learn to accept myself and those around me as imperfect and "go with the flow" a little more. I know when I say my perfectionism is a problem I sound like the person that says "my greatest weakness is that I'm an overachiever" in a job interview. Sidenote: Please, if I'm ever interviewing for a job, do not say that. I will not hire you if you do. Sidenote over: When I say my perfectionism is a weakness, it really is a huge glaring one.

So anyway, God's working on me in this area. I'm not saying that I'll ever be a slob, or that I'll have an inch of dust on my coffee table (it ain't happening people). But the laundry can wait until tomorrow. And I can go to bed even if Andrew's toys are spread from here to kingdom come. I can enjoy what I've been given without everything and everyone being perfect, and I can focus on the real reason we celebrate Christmas. It's not the gifts or the decorations or the parties (although they all add to the fun and festivity). If we took all of that away we'd still have Christmas because ultimately, it's about a Saviour who came to this world as a baby so that we would not have to strive for a perfectionism we could never attain.