Accepting Your Imperfect Life

Author Amy Carroll remembers the moment God’s love for her broke through the condemnation that the pursuit of perfection had left hanging over her like a dark cloud.

It happened on a trip to India where she was speaking at a women’s conference. To help the attendees visualize God’s love, the women participated in mock weddings, where they walked down the aisle as brides and imagined Jesus waiting for them as their groom.

One of the last women to participate was a 90-year-old woman. She put on the veil, held the bouquet of flowers, and shuffled down the aisle with tears of joy streaming down her face.

Someone leaned over to Amy and said, “That woman is dying. She met Jesus two weeks ago.”

At that moment, Amy’s eyes were suddenly opened. She fell to the floor weeping and says, “The shell around my heart broke.”

That older woman had not known Jesus her entire life, and now she had little life left to do anything for Him, and yet … He loved her completely.

Perfection is an interesting paradox. Matthew 5:48 says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” How is God perfect? In every way – in love, in grace, in justice, and in mercy.

We are not. So we buckle down and pursue perfection. Our lives begin to revolve around all that we feel we must do to measure up and to earn God’s love and acceptance. The trouble is, chasing perfection doesn’t infuse our souls with life, it crushes it.

The answer to that paradox is understanding that you can’t earn God’s love. You experience it by recognizing your need for a Savior and resting in His grace.

Amy Carroll is with us on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Accepting Your Imperfect Life” to share how you can find peace and hope by laying your need to be perfect at Jesus’ feet. He’ll turn the thorns of your brokenness into a crown.

Listen on your local radio station, online, on iTunes, via Podcast, or on our free phone app, or watch the full program on our YouTube channel.

Amy is a speaker for Proverbs 31 Ministries and has written a wonderful book called Breaking Up with Perfect: Kiss Perfection Good-Bye and Embrace the Joy God Has in Store for You. Right now for a gift of any amount, we’ll send you a copy as our way of saying thank you for your partnership. And for a limited time, your donation will be doubled, making twice the impact. (Check our website for details.)