It Will Never Be Perfect But There Will Be Perfect Moments Within Each Day.

I ran this race for way too long. The race of perfection. I am not sure how I even got myself into it. There was no bib number, no start line I remember beginning at but over the years the need for everything to be perfect grew STRONG.

The desire to create a perfect schedule, have a perfect career, perfect body, perfect home and perfect family. It.never.ended.

PERFECT was what I chased and the affirmation and validation from people that came with it.

And you know what?

I never found the finish line.

Why?

Because it does not exist. Nope. Not ever.

It's like that mirage you see in the seemingly close view ahead and you keep running for it thinking "I am almost there!"

You know..."just 5 more lbs! A little more money! Another title!" And then you get "there", so tired and exhausted and realize that was not the finish line because it still isn't "perfect enough." So, you keep running. Growing weary and depleted each day.

A few years ago, I felt a shift in my heart and mind, a prompting and a quiet nudge saying "tap out, slow down, you don't have to run this race." I sure wish God spoke to this girl but He doesn't, He just sends me all the emotions and discomfort until I listen.

And then I questioned Him. But what if I stepped out from behind the facade?

What would they think? I wore the "I can do all the things" badge with honor.

But I could not do it all. Will they think I gave up? Or that I am not strong?

I couldn't manage the tough schedule any longer (2:30am wake ups are HARD) I could not for the life of me keep measuring every morsel of food, I could not keep worrying about the way I looked, I could not run on 5 hours of sleep, I could not keep saying YES to all the people, I could not keep missing all the moments with my kids and I could not keep trying to make it look like I could juggle balls like a circus master.

I could not do it any more.

Maybe you too have ran that race?

Maybe you are still in it but you don't know how stop?

You don't know how to give yourself permission to slow down to live YOUR life and the fear of what they may say cripples you just thinking of it.

Right now, I believe, is your out, if you choose to.

Your time to step out of the race, if you choose to.

The world just shifted recently.

The slow down was forced on you.

Maybe it is the moment you have been waiting for to STOP running the perfection race.

The world will never be "perfect."

Your body will never be "perfect."

Your house will never be "perfect."

Your life will never be "perfect."

BUT don't miss THIS: There will be PERFECT moments in each day, each week, month and year.

Like the extra time in the morning you get to enjoy the sunrise since you don't have to rush to make that commute at the moment.

Or the family dinners that you haven't had in ages because everyone usually had a crow barred schedule every night.

Maybe it's an afternoon break on the patio with a cup of coffee.

ALL are perfect moments in the midst of uncertainty.

We hold out on feeling happy until everything is perfect and we waste all the days and minutes of our life when we could be finding happiness in the PERFECT moments found within the most imperfect days.

I wasted too many waiting for all the things to be "perfect" before I allowed myself to feel contentment.

Life is FAR from normal for most of us and the world today. It will likely be this way for awhile. We do not know when this will end. We are ALL walking an unknown path right now.

But within these uncertain days, we will be as happy as we choose to be.

Was the race you were running before God forced you to slow down exhausting? Maybe even a little unfulfilling? Maybe too crammed? Maybe your priority list need some shifting?

We get the choice to walk the other road.

The journey towards Joy...it's long and it's a much slower pace, it looks mundane some days, it's got a lot of overwhelm too just like the race of perfection did but there are more spaces in the day to pause and see the PERFECT moments God is giving us while taking us on this walk.

You will still get to where you were going, you can still #smash those goals but you'll enjoy the ride a hell of a lot more.

He's reaffirming it all right now.

Take it from me, the girl who's been walking this uncertain path since I left my TV career in 2018, on the other side of the "perfection race" is a place that feels more "perfect" than ever.

I know it's scary. I was scared too to leave that race but you become more brave, promise.

It's a fun, adventurous and filling walk. I hope you'll stay here too, even when the world gets back to "normal."

Perfect moments are right in front of us today. If we choose to slow down enough to see that the imperfect life we live is actually more beautiful than we could ever realize.