Turn the heat down !

"It's about progress, not perfection" is a comment I heard many times when sitting around tables with strangers in meeting rooms of church basements years ago.  That mantra is a great guideline for those struggling with addiction.  It serves as a gentle reminder that getting better is a process, not an event.

We tend to forget that it's no different in our spiritual journey.  Being a Christian isn't an event...it is a process.  A lifetime process at that.  And contrary to what many of us think at times, it isn't about perfection.  Our walk is about progress.  Most of us know, without doubt, that we are not perfect....nor will we ever be.  And yet we continue to beat ourselves up for not being perfect each and every time we do something contrary to what we know is God's will for us. 

You play a huge role in your children's growth into young adults.  And throughout that process, from baby to twenties, you never see perfection....but you see a lot of progress....because it is a process with a lot of ups and downs, trials and tribulations, missteps and mistakes, and most of all positive learning from all of that.  Look at your own spiritual journey in the same way.  While looking at it that way remember that when your kids were growing up you weren't a scorekeeper.  You were a forgiver as they made those stupid mistakes that eventually they learned from.  Look at God in the same way as you struggle with your spiritual journey.  He's no scorekeeper.  He's a forgiver.

Turn the heat down !  We tend to put a lot of extra heat on ourselves for screwing up.  Instead of beating yourself up over it, try to look at whatever it was as a positive.  It's a lesson to be learned from...if you choose it to be and that can be a real positive.  In addition to turning the heat down, just take a minute to remember that there was only one perfect one....and His name was Jesus.  And because He knew of our imperfect nature, He died on the cross for us....he carried our sin, our mistakes, our imperfection, so that we could make progress toward the ultimate perfection.  He handed us a process to live by, not on a silver spoon, but on a wood cross.