Spandex

I was asked recently what it was I thought God was trying to teach me lately. I'll tell ya, to be spandex. To stretch and bend around and over things that {sometimes} don't seem they should be stretched and bent around. That's what my time has been this school year.

Stretched, changed, tweaked, stripped down.

You name it, anything but consistent for more than a short period of time. A few short months ago that would have me completely unraveled. But now, in the midst of God's power and Grace, it's truly changing me. He is changing me. He is stripping away my comfort zone, my perfectionism, my time, and transforming it into something so much more beautiful than it's ever been. Into His time and His terms.

I've always been a perfectionist. But there is a problem with perfectionism, it doesn't jive with realism, with living especially with 4 small {very real} children. Perfectionism and the pursuit of it is prideful and ugly. It's selfishness and haughty and envious of others, or at least their appearance of perfection.

What comes with breaking the routine, the schedule, the plans laid up in my own space is stress, anxiety, fear...of life not being perfect. But when we submit moment by moment to Him, the creator of all time and circumstance, transformation takes place. When fear creeps in~prayers must be whispered out. Voices of imperfection stomped out into silence.

Because I am imperfect and God loves me....even though His blood has washed me clean, He loved me before that....in all my imperfectness. He wants to lavishly pour out His rich Grace on my life, this very day, this very moment!

Ephesians 1:7 "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of all sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding."

He doesn't hold back....He knows what He is doing in your life, and He's doing it for you.

You were made, created, fashioned to do good! You are God's Masterpiece a work of fine art! Really you are, just the way you are. Not as a perfectionist....the way you are.  He has created you to do good through Him, in advance! He knows what good you will do. He knows your struggles and your ugly imperfection, but He also knows how to help you over come that.

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

So be stretched with me, learn to be spandex. It's painful some times looking in the mirror to see what the truth is, but over time when we conform to His plan for our lives, we'll see the beauty in it all.