Alyse French | Fine Art Portrait Photographer | Houston, TX »

A Perfect Grace

So I have these plans. Plans for all sorts of things. Because I’m a perfectionist and if I were to be brutally honest with you… I’ve never been satisfied with my body, my (nonexistent) work/life balance, or really – the person that I am. I’m a stubborn root beer float addict who works about 80 hours a week by choice. Perhaps you can relate?

I’ve always had this vision for my life. I see consistency across the board. I see a girl who reads all sorts of invigorating literature every morning whilst sipping one of those half grass, half horse hay smoothies that’s supposed to be good for you. I see a girl who keeps strict office hours. Who shuts her computer after 5PM. Every day. Whose house is always clean. No, spotless… A girl who’s better at serving her husband and making him dinner more than once every two months. And a girl who loves God. No really – LOVES Him. More than her work. More than her schedule. More than her life itself. Because then? Life would be perfect. And I would be happy.

And then? A few revelations. (1) I don’t own a juicer, and I don’t read books. (2) It’s never been about MY life or MY happiness. (Who said my life was my own?) And (3) as the saying goes… GRACE, not perfection. I MUST. Hold myself to a standard of grace. Not perfection. This doesn’t mean I don’t try with all my guts. This doesn’t mean I don’t work tirelessly to get my priorities in order. It just means I can fall back on the grace of God.

On the perfect and completely satisfying grace of God…

 

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  • May 10, 2012 - 8:52 AM

    Amber J - You’re a beautiful person. I love glimpses of your heart!

  • May 10, 2012 - 9:03 AM

    Brooke Schultz - I think one of the hardest things about life is learning to not only tolerate but embrace the imperfections that make us human and unique. Loved this post.

  • May 10, 2012 - 9:04 AM

    Debby - Thank you for sharing a piece of your heart this morning. I needed it<3

  • May 10, 2012 - 9:08 AM

    Ashanté Reese - Perfectly beautiful and vulnerable. If we’re all honest, the vision of who we think we would like to be and who we actually are don’t always line up….and for that, I am quite grateful because the thinks I cannot predict in life make my life a little more colorful and a lot more meaningful. :) Thanks for sharing with us.

  • May 10, 2012 - 10:56 AM

    Rakeda Sharber - What a wonderful reminder at a time when my priorities are spinning wildly out of control. So many plans, so little time. It’s easy to get so caught up in “getting caught up” that we either get stuck in a rut, or forget to live life and breathe. Beautiful.

  • May 10, 2012 - 11:14 AM

    Kendra - So true, and just what I have been thinking about lately too! Love the honesty and openness!

  • May 10, 2012 - 12:24 PM

    Chelsea - Crazy– these have been *exactly* my thoughts lately! Thanks for putting that out there :)

  • May 10, 2012 - 1:20 PM

    Stacy K - I once heard somebody say, “Don’t let perfection get in the way of good.” In my opinion, people overlook the “good” too often. :)

  • May 11, 2012 - 10:49 AM

    Kristin Nicole - Love this and I totally needed this today.