Thoughts on Perfection

I'm sorry for not posting sooner. I need to make a habit of it. Maybe if I set a goal for once a week, I would be more consistent? I think so. Alright, Sunday will be my blogging day.

Recently I've been trying hard to lose weight. Like many people do, I gained quite a bit of weight when we got married. This was a really hard thing for me to come to terms with, and I was in denial for a couple years. But when my doctor said I needed to do something about it, and I came to the realization that my health was worse than it had ever been, I picked myself up by the bootstraps and made a hobby out of losing weight. The website MyFitnessPal has been my best friend in this journey - I've never liked counting calories, but it is the only way I've ever been successful at losing weight. With counting calories I have been trying to get more fruits and veggies in my diet as well. Then, a couple weeks in, I decided I also needed to exercise more. So I bought a couple power yoga videos and found some bodyweight training videos free on Amazon Prime Instant, and have been fairly consistent about exercising at least 3 times a week. I have now lost 16 of 40 pounds and am excited to be making my way to a more healthy lifestyle.

Now, the reason I write all this is not to brag, to complain, to ask for compliments, nor to ask for advice. I just wanted to share some of the things I've personally learned while losing weight about striving for perfection. Also, this post isn't really related to housewifery, but it's been on my mind recently, and what better place to share?

One of the things that I've noticed good yoga instructors say over and over again is that yoga should not be about doing a set of perfect poses. Instead, it should be about enjoying what you can do at this moment in time, but at the same time stretching a little further each time you practice. Recently I've noticed how this perspective applies to all of life - not just yoga. As mortals, we are imperfect. We have weaknesses and tough times and struggles. Everyone does. And we should acknowledge that.* But we don't have to let that stop us from stretching and striving towards being our own personal best.

*(Side note: that's one thing I love about my ward right now. The amazing sisters in our ward are so willing to open their hearts to each other, to share their experiences and to be real!)

Michael and I had a great conversation yesterday about perfection. We were trying to decide what it meant to commit to keeping all the commandments when we know we're human and we know we're going to make mistakes. Then we both had sort of an epiphany - we CANNOT be perfect on our own. We can't - it's part of this mortal life. BUT - we can be perfect in Christ. THAT is what we commit to. We commit to repent consistently because we know that as mortals, we are imperfect. We commit to taking advantage of that great gift of the Atonement. We commit to do our personal best and to let Christ take care of the rest. We commit to centering our lives on Jesus Christ. I love this BYU speech by Brad Wilcox. In it, he says, "Jesus doesn't make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us." God is awesome. He is good. He is understanding. He is our Father. He wants us to be happy. I know this personally, without a shadow of a doubt.

I hope what I've learned helps someone else, because it has already helped me. And if it doesn't, that is okay.

Have a happy Sunday!