themoodyblogger

After purchasing 2 buggy’s worth of groceries/items at Sam’s Club yesterday, a thought hit me. So many of us have empty pantries, because we desire perfection in our cooking habits. The media is pounding us with diet and exercise routines. We are afraid we are exposing our kids and families to way too much trans fat and sugar. Perfection is what we desire. So what do we do? Spend money eating out. Hamburger Helper and Shake ‘n Bake Chicken is more than what the typical third-world family eats in a week.  

The American Dream is a beautiful meal, on a beautiful table, with a beautiful spouse, with beautiful clean children, in an organized house, and smiles all around. It is about time and not about perfection. I am a recovering perfectionist. I know.  You would think a perfectionist would have the beautiful house, the perfect word, all her ducks in a row, etc. Nope. A perfectionist has a cluttered house, a stack of unread books, a pile of unwashed laundry. Why start if the end result is not perfection?

Why exercise if I can’t look like Angelina Jolie in one week?

Why clean house when tomorrow it will look like a pig pen?

Why spend time with my spouse, when all they want to do is watch the ballgame?

Why spend time with my kids, when I do not have all the “right” activities lined up?

Why pray, when it will not come out all beautiful and poetic?

Why read my bible, because the commands in there are so overwhelming?

One reason I go on mission trips is to be able to unplug from the American Dream. No one expects me to be perfect. My job is to love people. My team. The Honduran people. That is it. Not saying I necessarily do that well. I don’t. But that is OK. All the trappings of the world are removed for a week. We work hard. We get dirty. We stink. We eat what we are given. We love each other unconditionally.

I am borrowing this verse from one of our missionary’s Facebook post this morning (Mike):

Romans 10:14-15 ESV How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”