Wrong Date...
A quick note: a scheduling mix-up during our Minnesota vacation meant two reflections went out yesterday leaving no reflection for today. But sorting out the mistake got me thinking about something worth passing along anyway.
Sometimes a mistake can get me thinking....
If you are a little confused, I can understand why. We had a family vacation to Minnesota and I was trying to get a little bit ahead on reflections. I ended up clicking the wrong date, so today's reflection was sent yesterday. So yesterday's email carried two reflections, and today you're just getting this note instead.
But it did get me thinking. A mistake, even one this simple, really bugs me. I have a bit of a perfectionist streak, and it can lead me to seek perfection for its own sake. That can be a problem in life, but it is dangerous when it sneaks into my faith life — the times I get so focused on getting it perfect — no mistakes, no sin, nothing but prayer — that I am chasing "perfect" discipleship instead of just chasing Him. Anyone who knows me can tell you that just isn't going to happen. Then again, when I look at the Apostles, they were not perfect either.
So I started thinking about relationships. It probably is not a huge surprise that I am not a perfect friend, father, son and husband. To be honest, the list of mistakes is probably longer than the list of successes, and those bother me as much as my shortcomings in my faith life. But the more I thought about it, I do not expect the people in my life to be perfect either.
If perfection is not the defining feature of a relationship, then what is? The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that the key is showing up, over and over again. Being there when things are good and when things are bad — giving all you have in those moments even when you know it will not be enough. That is the self-gift that defines a relationship, and it is the self-gift that defines the life of a disciple too.
The Apostles were not perfect, but they kept coming back. Peter denied Christ, but he stayed in the upper room. Thomas doubted Jesus had appeared to them, but he was there when Christ came back to the room.
It reminds me of a child learning to walk. They fall, a lot. But no parent says the child keeps failing to walk — they are just learning, and falling is part of the process. Getting back up and trying again is an even more important part of it.
It would be a cruel Father who made us so that perfection was beyond our grasp and then demanded nothing short of perfection. But the definition of a loving Father is one who created us for relationship with Him and is with us each time we fall along the way.