The Perfect Life

I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed, today.  It happens sometimes.  OK...It happens a lot.  I live constantly striving for the "amazing" life that I know I should have.

I browse through photos of people I know.  People living the dream.  They are surfing or traveling or working in the mission field.  They are loving life because life is perfect for them. 

I follow my favorite blogs and find mothers who put their children's needs above their own with the greatest of ease.  They make clothes and deliciously healthy home cooked meals.  The keep a perfectly tidy home and spend their spare time breathing in the joy of their perfect families.  They are loving life because life is perfect for them.

And then I let my eyes wander from my computer screen.  I see my to do list that never ends.  I see the clutter crowding my desk and the dishes piling in the sink.  I see the material items that are supposed to make us happier, and they just make me feel claustrophobic.  I look at my finances and sink into a slight depression.
I make a mental list for what I need to do that day.  It doesn't give room for mistakes.  It doesn't give time to enjoy my family.  The baby wakes up before I expect him to, and I stuff my frustration down inside so that I can greet him with a smile.  My husband comes home late from a hard day at work, and I raise my voice at him for leaving his shoes in the middle of the floor.

And instead of stopping...instead of putting an end to the journey to perfect...I keep going.  I add more to my plate and I buy more things.  I add more good intentions to my well-intentioned life.  But it doesn't work.  This isn't how I achieve the "amazing" life that I know I should have.  I need to stop.  I need to say no.  I need to put down the credit card.  I need to turn off the computer and make time to surf and cook and breathe in the joy of my family.  I need to just be.  I need to realize that I should love life.  Not because life is perfect, but because life is good.

God tells me to be still in him.  To let him take care of it and stop worrying about perfection.  He's got this.

 Be still and know that I am God-Psalm 46:10