Flawed Perfection!

Shelby and I went to Myrtle Beach for our Fall Break, which seems like about a month ago. We love to go to the beach for many reasons, one of them being that we get to walk along the shore and collect seashells. I love to search for the perfect shell that is unique from the others but that is whole, without any marks or cracks or blemishes. I pick up a lot of shells but few make it into my bucket.

Last week, as we were walking along the beach, my eyes were focused on the seashell piles along the shore. The Atlantic beaches are not as well-known for their seashells but I thought maybe there would be more since Hurricane Matthew had just made a visit. I saw many beautiful pieces of what must have been a perfect shell, at one time, torn apart by the waves and debris in the ocean. The perfect ones were far and few between. Needless to say, I started to feel bad for the imperfect pieces that I was just throwing aside. It reminded me of what we do everyday when we come across the remnants of people in our lives.

The media suggests that in order to be perfect, one must have the perfect height, weight, haircolor, eye color, clothes, car, etc. Yet, the same perfect people that are portrayed in the media are also the same people that we read about with so many other issues in their lives. Their perfections do not keep them from going through the same things that we do. Death still happens; marriages still fail; children still rebel.

Many of us look in the mirror and critique our hair, our face, our body, and the list goes on and on. We do the same thing when we go in public. We look at those around us and, almost without fail, we naturally look for those flaws that make others less-than-perfect. Some of the flaws are a bit more obvious and it takes little effort to find them. We critique what others are driving, what they are wearing, how they have their hair, how they discipline their children, where they live, what they buy, what grades they get in school, how they look overall, etc. We judge them based on our own imperfections.

I am so thankful that when God looks at us, He sees flawed perfection. He knows our weaknesses and our limitations. He knows that spelling may be hard for some of us and that making a three-point shot is impossible for others. Yet, He has made us in His image and He has designed our perfectly flawed bodies and minds for a purpose in His Kingdom in order to make all things beautiful in His time. Whether we are whole or whether we feel pieced together, God sees beauty when He looks at us and He has picked us up and has put us in His bucket for His beautiful collection.

As for the seashells, I ended up picking up the broken pieces and will be making a rose out of them. It will be my constant reminder that God will make everything beautiful in His time.

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