Don’t be jealous, but….
I have FIVE pairs of scissors AND I know where they are. Ever since my kids moved out they are nestled together in a container in the third drawer in my kitchen, exactly where they are supposed to be. There are some advantages to empty nest, right? I like knowing where everything is and I like being in control.I’ll admit I like perfection and I like my life to be tidy and neat.
But it’s not.
Tidiness suggests that something is as good as it’s going to get~Anne Lamontt
HOME INVASION
The adults who used to be my little children came home for the weekend. Like old times, the electric meter spun so fast it nearly launched into orbit. All the lights upstairs stayed on and I continually loaded and unloaded the dishwasher. More trash was generated in two days than I do by myself in an entire week. Before they headed opposite directions down the same interstate, I swiped my card at the grocery store and the gas tank.
My house is a wreck and my heart is full.
2 John 1:4,”It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth.” NIV
PERFECTION IS MY ENEMY
Perfection continually eludes me. Lately I’ve wondered if it’s really what I want after all. Better a house full of family and the chaos of living than orderly cabinets and closets. The scent of vanilla permeating my house is more excellent than a candle with a still waxy wick. I prefer a book with crimped pages and a wrinkled cover is wrinkled over nicely pressed paper. I prefer walking in the rain or riding in the wind rather than every hair in place. Soil under my nails is better than a professional manicure. Actually on that matter, can’t I have both? My Bible is my life-line and my favorite one is falling apart.
Deuteronomy 32:47, “For it is no empty word for you, but your very life.” ESV
LIFE IS MESSY
I don’t want to pretend to be something I’m not. But actually, my life is perfect; it’s a perfect mess. Maybe perfection is your enemy too. Fear of failure or rejection makes us shrink back from stepping out in faith. The need for control keeps us from trusting God to bring about His good purposes in every situation, so we try to fix everything and everyone. Concern for personal safety, both physical and emotional, limits God’s plans to prosper us and use us to further His kingdom. Life is definitely a mess, but better a mess than no message and better a test than no testimony. There is a high price to following Christ, but the reward is greater.
John 10:10, “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” MSG
TIDINESS COMES WITH A PRICE TOO
A tidy house is often an empty house. A tidy heart can be a detached heart. A tidy day is possibly an uninvested day. A tidy life is like an unread book or an unburned candle, it is unlived.
A tidy life is an unlived life #abundantlife #rtp Click To Tweet
Want a perfect life?
- Stay out of enemy territory because the devil won’t bother to attack in the safe zone
- Don’t try anything new and you won’t fail
- Stuff your feelings and pretend you’re fine so people will leave you alone
- Don’t trust anyone and you won’t get burned
- Lock the doors or your family will use your scissors and never return them
I could keep my life perfectly neat but I would miss the joy…
I could steel my heart or cry off my mascara…
I could play it safe or risk it all…
I think it’s worth the risks. Maybe it’s time to reject perfect. Because tidy is as good as it gets and personally, I want more.
Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.” HCSB
Thanks for following my imperfect Right Side Up Life.
Yep it is all about the scissors in the end.
My children left yesterday so I am listening to the sound of alone in a way I have never been before, but while they were here I seemed to be looking for those darned scissors again and again. HaHa
If we never took risks we would never know love and that would be even more heartbreaking than losing love thru death. Knowing I was loved gives me comfort and knowing I AM loved by God gives me peace.
My word this year is still FAITH.
Bless you, bless you. Not knowing love is definitely more heart breaking than death. Hope you find your scissors soon
Perhaps my favorite blog post you’ve ever written. Love this!
Thanks so much!
God is master of messes — I am thankful for His love and never getting tired of hearing and healing.
. Psalm 91:2 –I will say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety and protection. You are my God and I trust you.”
He is bigger than all of our messes
I look forward to Saturday mornings to read your blog. It seems you know just what I am needing to hear. Thank you for being so honest and open as you share GOD’S WORD. Praying for you.
thank you! Have a blessed Saturday
So fun reading this, because two of my boys were home recently and one of them used my good fabric scissors while working on his Toyota 4 Runner! Messey life equals great stories!
Well using fabric scissors is crossing the line
I like perfection and control. But your post today reminds me what is more important as I sit in my empty nest. Thank you for the encouraging insights, Vickie.
It’s a beautiful season of life
My house was in perfect shape last Sunday when I left to help my daughter move out of her college dorm. The day we got home, the hallway filled with about 13 loads of clothes, the kitchen island was covered with 37 pieces of pottery she made this semester, the graphic design projects she created are leaning against various walls in the family room, and the boxes and boxes of theology books are still sitting in the foyer waiting for a home. The mess is everywhere, and I am SO HAPPY! 🙂 She’ll be off again in just a few weeks, and I’ll again perfect things in the silence.
On another note, this sentence jumped off your page at me: “Maybe perfection is your enemy too. Fear of failure or rejection makes us shrink back from stepping out in faith.” I am still delaying a project I think I really need to tackle, largely because I’m worried I won’t have anything of real value to say and the project (and I) will flop. Thank you for writing these words.
Have a beautiful day!
Whatever your project, you sure have a way with words… Love the picture you painted
I love this! I have my son still at home and makes me remember to stop trying to clean up the messes and enjoy the time! It goes so quickly!
Yes it does. Definitely enjoy
Loved this!!! Soooo true! Came home from your tidy, beautiful home to undone chores BUT a giggling 2 1/2 yr old grandson!
That makes my day
This. Oh THIS. Thank you Vickie, my heart is cracked wide open. These are the words I needed today, right now.
Thank you. Live today!
Love this’
Thank you
Perfectionism plagues me! Thank you for this post. Just today I was trying to push out of my mind how MANY areas of my house need tidying… I try to daily remind myself how quickly this time with little ones will pass. I want to make the most of it! Also spot on was the time spent investing in others despite my instant inclination to always have a plan and resist “interruptions.” Thank you for the reminder and the challenge. Some great analogies!
It’s a never ending temptation!
Very relatable..thanks for the read……as I head to the kitchen now to clean up after last evenings cook out w/our adult kids!
Sounds like fun
I can SO relate!!!! As always you nailed it! Thank you for sharing your life and thoughts with all of us!
Sharing goes both ways. Thank you
Wow, I just LOVE your writing, Vickie! What a great piece, with such a pertinent reminder for all of us that staying perfectly safe is not a great way to play the game of life! Glad we met online today! Perhaps next time in Arkansas! 🙂
Absolutely! Would love to have you
Thanks, Vickie! Great post. I hope to look at my messy house differently! “My house is a wreck and my heart is full”
You know I always try to look at the bright side