This post is the fifth of five in a series that I am calling Imperfectionism. It's about holding ourselves to a standard of God's grace, not perfection. Read 'em and let imperfection seep into your priorities.
Regret is no one's friend, and perfectionists bear the brunt of regret's pain. One of the techniques I practice as an imperfectionist is ordering my priorities before making decisions, which I mentioned in yesterday's post. This allows me to choose the most important things in my life and filter every decision through that lens.
Recently, I was taken aback by the extent of my imperfection in having properly-ordered priorities...I'm not good at this right now.
In my time with the Lord this week, I made a list of what I am actually, currently prioritizing based on my actions and how I am spending my time. The list startled me.
{currently}
1. Social life
2. Career
3. Kingdom service
4. Family
5. Solitude with God
This order is not how I would ever plan on my priorities falling. I see ways I am idolizing my social life and friendships, or how, in practice, I care about my career more than my family.
It saddens me to think that I would ever make my imperfectionist decisions based on these messed-up priorities. So I reordered them with some details of what each category means for this season of life.
{new list}
1. Solitude with God (read, walk, meditate, pray)
2. Kingdom service (youth group, AWANA, nursery, life group)
3. Family (immediate family, dinners, movies, presence, kind words)
4. Career (working, earning, interning)
5. Social life (optional events, seeking out friendships, calls/FaceTimes)
As you can see, none of these items are bad in themselves. In fact, they are all good things ultimately. Even my social life is still one of my five priorities. But in the wrong order, they can be devastating to each other. Your list may look different, but that is because there is no perfect list.
Based on these priorities, when making a decision about how to spend my time, serving my church family comes before picking up extra shifts. When having an internal debate about my social life or time with God, I will recall that solitude with the Lord is what I desire more.
Imperfectionists make choices, not perfectly or with any special knowledge of the future, but with a few clear-cut, ordered priorities in mind.
My challenge to you on this final day of considering imperfectionism is this: write down three to five priorities for you in this season of life.
How do your priorities fall? Don't agonize over this task because there is no perfect list. Be real with where you are. What are the "honest things" that speak to who you are and what you know you are meant to be?
Are you working on making beautiful things, or are you striving too hard for the slippery idea of perfection?
Do you want to be proactive with your priorities or filled with regret that your decisions don't chalk up to impossible standards?
Remember that the Lord's grace to us is abundant and overflowing. Actively live in that today—live out what you are learning about imperfectionism.
~Madeline
I needed to read this today. Thank you for sharing <3
ReplyDelete