Have you ever browsed through Pinterest for inspiration and found a recipe or DIY project you felt SO CERTAIN you could recreate? That's how I felt, too, when I came across these sombrero cookies for Cinco de Mayo one year.
I figured this recipe would be simple enough for me to pull off because I am NOT a baker: I hate measuring, hate following recipes – hate baking, for that matter – yet I wanted to try them anyway. Plus, they looked easy, right? Nope. WRONG!
They turned into boob cookies.
How did this happen??! My kids noticed it immediately when we started putting the gumdrops on. They were like, "Um...mom.....???" Hahahahaha! Look at my daughter's face!
Of course we ate them anyway (ain’t no sugar wastin' in my house), but unfortunately there were other problems in my “perfectly” planned Cinco de Mayo day until eventually I wanted to give up and just order a pizza.
Have you ever felt like that — like your desire for perfection was getting in the way of connecting with others? Maybe it’s not in your baking but in your DIY projects. Or maybe it’s happened while trying a new parenting hack you were so sure would make your kids eat their vegetables but they still threw them on the floor.
Sigh.
I don’t know about you, but when things go wrong I tend to blame myself. And sometimes that’s legitimate. (After all, had I just READ the freaking baking instructions maybe my cookies would've turned out like hats!) Still, my impetuousness is only part of the problem. The real issue is that I have unrealistic expectations.
Now, I know there are some of you who are Type B and super laid back and never struggle with perfectionism. Cookie hats off to you. But many of us do struggle with it. And it’s not hard to see why when there are moms like Janene Crossley roaming the Internet. (Seriously, how is she real?!?!)
We’ve all found ourselves in the middle of a social media comparison-game. But as a parent to three girls, I NEED to rise above this so I can help them do the same! Which is why I asked God for wisdom during my Pinterest-meltdown and I felt him impress this upon my heart:
Jonna, I never asked you to be perfect. I asked you to be consistent.
Whoa. That’s good. And it’s for all of us: We are supposed to be consistent in our:
parenting.
marriages.
faith.
health.
you name it!
Choosing to SHOW UP expels comparison because it puts connection above the outcome. Then it doesn’t matter if you or I parent perfectly (because news flash, we won’t); it only matters that we consistently show up for our kids and love them fervently. The same is true for our spouses, our bosses, our friends, or our creative (cookie) endeavors.
So I challenge you today to think of one thing you strive to be perfect in and replace that desire with consistency. Do it for the sake of doing it – because you enjoy it, or because it will bring the people you love closer together. Even if you do it and fail, go ahead and post it on Pinterest anyway. The world is waiting to see your “boob cookie” too.
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