My 8 year old made this bracelet for me. She strung each bead and presented it to me with pride. Of course, I love it!
My 13 year old however later whispered to me, "Some of the letters are mixed up. You should take it apart after she goes to sleep and redo it." The funny thing about her comment, is that I too suffer from perfectionism and not too long ago may have entertained that same thought.
But not anymore. My younger daughter worked very hard on this gift for me. It is not perfect, but it is by her own hands. And when I see it, I am filled with love and I smile at her imperfections, because I know how hard she worked and that she did this for me. Even with the mix ups, you can clearly see what it was meant to be. "Kelly."
I believe that is how my Heavenly Father sees me. I try to do things for Him, but more often that not I end up mixed up. I might submit a devotional for publication that is rejected. I might tell someone the gospel, but they reject it. I might try to be godly, but gossip. I'm not perfect.
But because of Jesus, God knows I work very hard on my gifts for Him. They are not perfect, but they are by my own hands. And I believe, when He sees them, He is filled with love for me and smiles, because He knows I work for Him.
What failures are holding you back from working for God's glory today? He loves you even with your imperfections. You are more special to Him, that this bracelet is to me. You are His, and He made you! He forgives our mixed up messes, and sees what we were meant to be.
Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com
5 comments:
So good once again, Kelly, you are right on!
Love this, Kelly. We try so hard to clean ourselves up so we can be loved. What a relief--we already are.
Oh, my, what a perfect picture of our attempts to please our Father and His grace in spite of our blunders. Thanks for sharing this today, Kelly!
I love how you compared the gifts we give to God with the gifts our kids give to us. The more I concentrate on giving my gifts (blog posts, ministry, etc) to God just because I love Him, the easier it will be to not worry about whether or not others will like my gifts. I don't feel that way when I spend time with Him, but for some reason I struggle when it's a gift of time for others.
Beautiful post,Kelly! Great illustration:-)
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