Not Perfect

The other day, I was looking through some old magazine articles I’ve written and I came across this poem I wrote for a teen devotional magazine a couple of years ago:

Lord, help me know
That I’m your design.
Unique, of your hands,
Of your heart
And your mind.
It’s easy to look in the mirror and see
That I am not perfect,
But I am me.
Sometimes I think I’m too short or too tall.
My stomach’s too big.
My chest is too small.
My skin is a mess.
My teeth are not straight.
I try to be God-like,
But just make mistakes.

Let me stop right there for a second and ask…even though this was written for a teen publication, how many of us still feel this way today? How many of us look in the mirror with dissatisfaction? Or get frustrated with the lack of perfection we see?

But you know what can be beautiful about imperfection?

It can remind us that we aren’t perfect. And that we never will be. And it can help to point us to the only One who is: Jesus.

When we turn to Him and let His love touch our lives, we are reminded of our value–a value that has nothing to do with what we look like. A value that is rooted in our hearts…

1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV) ~ The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

When we let God’s love penetrate our hearts, our imperfections somehow fade in the light of His love. And instead of being dissatisfied with ourselves, we can be filled with appreciation.

Here is the end of the poem…

I’m crooked and messed up and flawed,
But not really—
Because, Lord, you made me,
And it’s you who heals me.
I am your handiwork, and you are faithful.
Though I’m not perfect,
I am so grateful.