Perfect

I am not perfect. 
Goodness knows I'm not perfect.  And I'm OK with that--most of the time.  Really, who wants to be perfect?  Being perfect such a drag (not that I would know...)

As for God, his way is perfect:
The LORD’s word is flawless.

Psalm 18:30

Every now and then, though, I try, not to be perfect, because I know I am not and never could be perfect, but to be...better.  It's not necessarily a bad thing to try to be better.  Trying to be better is what drives us toward success.  But I've found that when I try to be better in one area of my life...for instance, keeping the kitchen tidy...I lack in other areas...for instance, keeping on top of the laundry (did you just have a mental picture of a several stories high mountain of laundry with little ol' me perched on top?  I did :) and sometimes it does feel like a mountain).  It's a constant give and take, back and forth, push and pull.

In my current quest for better-not-perfect, one thing has become glaringly obvious.  Most of what I do is temporary, and most of that lasts less than an hour.  Nothing lasts.  I wash the dishes after breakfast, and there are more dirty dishes to wash at lunch time--sometimes even sooner.  I sweep the floor and there are crumbs on it again minutes later.  I sort, wash, dry, sort again, fold, hang, and put away 5 loads of laundry and before the day is even through there's another load to do.  I wash a window (believe me, it doesn't happen very often), and my kids' grubby little hands are inexplicably drawn to it within seconds.  And the toys!  They are everywhere.  I swear they must multiply when my back is turned.  At the urging of my little ones, I build a train track or a lego tower or a fun something out of pool noodles, and they delight in destroying it.  Sometimes it lasts an hour or two, sometimes mere minutes.  Occasionally one of my creations will stand for a couple of days, but inevitably, they all come tumbling down.  I literally spend all day, every day, doing things that are almost immediately undone.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,

where moths and vermin destroy,

and where thieves break in and steal.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

where moths and vermin do not destroy,

and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:19-20 NIV

It is completely disheartening.  I often wonder why I even bother.  Very often.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,

as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

since you know that you will receive an inheritance

from the Lord as a reward.

It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:23-24 NIV

And then, I remind myself: nothing lasts forever.  Sure the buildings Grandpa Blue builds stand for decades (maybe centuries, but he's not quite old enough yet to know for sure), the processes Hubby installs last for years, the code esheppy writes...well, it's probably obsolete quickly, but I'm sure his work lasts longer than a day...but even those things are only temporary when viewed through the lens of eternity.  Nothing lasts forever, except love.

Love never fails.

But where there are prophecies, they will cease;

where there are tongues, they will be stilled;

where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

1 Corinthians 13:8 NIV

All of those temporary things, they need to be done, but they will not last.

The world and its desires pass away,

but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

1 John 2:17 NIV