“The turkey’s on fire!”

Pursuing perfection among the messiness of orphan care

Almost equally as dreadful would be the words, “The turkey’s still frozen!” Why? Because there’s pressure on Thanksgiving to eat the most delicious meal you’ve ever had! “Keep the kids away from the pies! Make sure Aunt Ruth doesn’t burn the rolls! Run to the store…we’re out of butter! Get that casserole in the oven!”

We all want a Betty Crocker, Martha Stewart, Magnolia Market picture-perfect Thanksgiving that we’ve seen in every Hallmark Movie. Whew! Doesn’t that sound exhausting? And a little bit ridiculous?

It does seem ridiculous, but our desire for perfection is not absurd. We were made for it. God created us without blemish, placed us on an earth without flaw, and we lived in relationship without brokenness. Unfortunately, we both know what happened next. Chaos [sin] entered the world. And we’ve been living as imperfect people striving for perfection ever since. Can you blame us? Perfection is what we were intended for.

The good news is, perfection will be restored…but not on this side of Heaven. So take a deep breath and stop your striving. Let’s smile despite our blemishes, let’s choose joy despite the flaws in our world, and let’s love despite the brokenness among us.

Let’s embrace the messiness of life while we wait for the perfection of eternity. Because if we don’t stop seeking perfection, we’ll be too afraid to step into the messes God is calling us to.

And friend, those messes need you. They need me. They need the Church.

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