Being Perfected, Not Perfect

I wonder if anyone has ever had a perfect life?  I mean, you know, other than the God-man and I don’t think he had one either since his parents had feet of clay.  Let’s not forget how they left him at home alone, so to speak…in Jerusalem.  But what about a day?  Has anyone ever had a perfect day?  Have you?  A moment?  Have you ever had a perfect moment?

I think perfection is overrated and I think that more now than ever.  After all, where do you go once you reach perfection?  You get back the test and there’s a 100 written on it and circled in red.  You go 5 for 5 at the plate.  Every relative shows up on time, there’s peace on earth and good will to men since they liked your green bean casserole.  Your last words are met with a standing ovation.  All the votes are counted and you not only won but it was unanimous.  You get the job and a stock option to boot.  Your sermon is greeted with rousing amen’s…at a Methodist’s Church.    

What happens after perfection?  I wouldn't know since I have never ever achieved it but I can only guess that after the dust settles you’re left questioning now what?  How do I maintain this level of performance and feeling of euphoria?  How much fun is it to pitch again after your so called perfect game?

There may be moments of perfection but for the most part that’s not how life works.  At least not how my life works.  My best moments are followed by my worst moments or at least lesser ones.  I preach a good sermon and some even think it was great and as I say thank-you a little voice inside my perfectionist head says…Sunday is coming…next Sunday is coming and what will it be?  Can you duplicate what you did so that the audience doesn't leave saying…he’s slipping and that certainly wasn't his best and I wonder what happened to him since last Sunday.  How long has he been here now?  Maybe we need a change…

A hit song sings imperfect is the new perfect.  Perfect discipline or perfect control is the best way to miss out on the joy of life.  The fact that things don’t always go according to plans is permission not be perfect.  Imperfection is life’s invitation to let go of the illusion of control.  Our planning as well as our plans are meant to control what happens so things turn out the way we want them to.  But that’s not how life works, at least not most of the time.  Since we are imperfect, our plans are too.  Our plans are limited by our limited knowledge.  We only know what we know and when plans don’t work out right we get to see and accept that we are human beings.  As Robert Burns says to a mouse:  “The best-laid schemes of mice and men go astray and leave us naught but grief and pain for promised joy.”  And let us not forget that Murphy’s law rules us all…”what can go wrong will go wrong.”  But what if…what goes wrong teaches us what we need to know?  Yes, that there are things we don’t know but more importantly what we don’t know teaches us too.  Teaches us that we are not in charge.  Teaches us to surrender our ego.  Teaches us that life is not about being perfect but about being perfected.

Have you heard the story about the Chinese farmer?

In medieval China there once lived an old farmer who had a weak, ailing horse for ploughing his field.  One day, the sickly horse ran away to the hills.  The farmer’s neighbors offered their sympathy to him:  “Such rotten luck!” they exclaimed.

Bad luck?  Good luck?  Who knows?  Mused the farmer.

A week later, the old horse returned, bringing with it a herd of wild horses from the hills.  This time, the neighbors swarmed around the farmer and congratulated him on his good luck.  His reply however was the same:  Good luck?  Bad luck?  Who can tell?

Sometime later, while trying to tame one of the wild horses, the farmer’s only son fell off its back and broke his leg.  Everyone thought this was bad luck.  Bad luck?  Good luck?  I don’t know said the farmer.

A few weeks later, the king’s army marched into the village and conscripted every able bodied young man living there.  The farmer’s son, who was laid up with a broken leg was let off, for he was thought to be of no use to them.

Now what was this?  Good luck or bad luck?  Who can tell?

Things that seem adverse on the surface may actually be good in disguise.  Something that seems lucky may actually be harmful to our best interests.  We must leave it to a higher power to take our plans and life in a different direction for only He knows what’s best.

Sometimes plans don’t go as planned.  And that’s a good thing for the planners.  Sometimes, in this life, a perfect game is going 3 for 10 at the plate.  To do that means you been perfected not perfect.  And that’s as good as gets in our field of dreams.