She is a picture of grace, holding a babe in her arms and leading another by the hand. She is the image of perfect, juggles life and work and marriage and kids and relationships with ease. She eats organic; crafts a beautiful home; sets up elaborate art projects to engage her children’s creativity; all while managing to stay connected to her husband and her God and her friends. And she never spends beyond her budget. She is loving to all, forgives easily, and knows when to talk and when to remain quiet. She has words of wisdom ready on her tongue yet refrains from gossip. She does not silently judge others who make her feel insecure. She does not struggle with the limits of her humanity.
She stands in the corner and silently condemns me when I struggle. She is the shadow of the impossible ideal I feel I must live up to – in order to keep life, what? Perfect? Beautiful? Smooth? She takes the place of God in my heart and my life. She masks him with her demands and deceives me into thinking that she is God.
God rescues me. He gently scoops up my weary soul, reminding me that it is not “she” who sets the standard but HE who sets the standard. And he’s set it high – impossibly so – but he’s fulfilled it already, and so I go free. Free of “she.” Free to be the “me” he is making me to be.
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Today I join Lisa-Jo Baker in her “Five Minute Friday” community. You can also join in here to write for five minutes on a different prompt each Friday.
hidden glory 
Visiting from FMF. I think we all feel the pressure of the impossible ideal but thank you for the reminder to refocus on God and who He made us. Made me think of Galatians 1:10.
Yes, He sets us free and that is the most wonderful thing.
I know the “she” in your post better than I would like. It blesses me to know that I am not alone in the struggle. God loves to turn our gaze to Himself and the light burden that is Him. Thanks for reminding me of this. Stopping by from Lisa-Jo’s place today!
Amen! How does “she” get around so easily. She lives with me too … you would know from my post today at my blog (which I am just venturing to craft these days). I am so blessed to hear you call “her” out and remind us all that we are not defined by her, but by Jesus who loves us well — as we are.
Wowsers…this is excellent. “And he’s set it high – impossibly so – but he’s fulfilled it already…”. Yay! A thousand times yay. It’s great to find wonderful people who have taken a grip on grace. Thank you so much for this post. It’s truly wonderful.
Wonderful…his grace is astounding, and I wonder how I seem to forget this in the day-to-day as a mother. Thank you for this vivid reminder.