From Perfectionism to True Rest

Photo credit: Sylvia Bartyzel, @Unsplash

I silently stared out the window at the barren fields and cloudy skies, as we drove the five hour trip back home after a whirlwind trip to visit family for the holidays. The kids had their headphones on and were listening to a story CD, and my husband, Josh, was zoned in on the drive; I welcomed the quiet and temporary solitude free from distractions. As I watched the gray storm clouds rolling by, I couldn't help but parallel the bleak skyline to the past year's disappointments. It seemed as though, despite my best efforts, things just hadn't gone at all according to plan. 

My mind wandered to 2017, which had ended rather disastrously as I'd stretched myself too thin and ended the year with a panic attack, due to over-commitment and my desire for control and perfection in nearly every aspect of my life. This forced me to stop and re-evaluate my priorities. I remembered choosing the words "purpose" and "present" to define 2018, believing that a schedule and well-thought-out plan would cure the anxiety and stress I'd been unable to shake. I told myself that if I just had a clear-cut purpose and plan instead of aimlessly saying yes to everything, things would get better.

Instead of finding my purpose, however, God began to peel back the layers of my striving to reveal imperfections, weaknesses, and failures. I fought for control, for this perfect ideal I had in my head for what I thought God wanted. I looked at what others were doing and questioned why God didn't create me with the ability to accomplish what they could. I kept asking myself why I seemed to have all of these limits that they didn't and begged God to take away what I considered to be shortcomings so that I could do all of these great things for Him. I just knew I could be of more use if He'd created me without all of these struggles! My inner critic was relentless. My desire for personal perfection began to grow into a critical view of others as well, and I attempted to lay the blame for my failure on others. I told myself that if they had just behaved differently, my reaction would have been better.

Continue reading my story of freedom here at the original post.