It's Sunday night. You've finally done it. You've created the perfect plan. You've meal prepped and time blocked; you're ready for anything. This week, nothing can stop you. You're finally gonna live your best life as the perfect human you always knew you could be.
But then Tuesday rolls around, and your keto muffins are moldy, and the store is out of eggs, and you give up and eat a chocolate bar for breakfast. Your schedule gets cramped, extra meetings pop up, and suddenly that dream version of you meets the reality version of you, hitting snooze til it's too late to do your workout, playing a game on your phone instead of reading, and telling yourself you'll try again next week. Sound familiar?
So what do we do when we're not as perfect as we want to be, when life throws us curveballs, when we miss the mark? This morning I read a verse from The Message Bible. Matthew 5:48b - "Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you." That struck me. What a beautiful way to live our lives, generously and graciously. Not just toward others, but toward ourselves too. Sometimes life requires flexibility. Joyce Meyers calls this living with margins. I like that. As a recovering perfectionist, I have to remind myself often that it's ok if everything doesn't go to plan and to leave myself some wiggle room.
In addition to giving ourselves grace, we need to define our priorities. Which things are most important to us in THIS season of life? Because after all, this is a season. Recently I was talking about my hectic schedule with someone, and they remarked, "This is the busiest season of your life." And something about that brought me peace, because I was reminded that I won't always be juggling two sports schedules plus a full-time job. I won't always be running to meetings and doing virtual appointments on my lunch breaks, and it helped me to put things in perspective. Some seasons are just busier than others, and that's ok. In those seasons, know your priorities. Know which habits absolutely must happen, and which ones can get shifted to the back burner.
I'm not saying we shouldn't strive to be better. Lord knows it's my favorite thing to do, think, and talk about. But I am saying we need to give ourselves grace; we need to prioritize, and when all else fails, eat the chocolate bar for breakfast. I can't wait to see you succeed!
~K.L.W.
