I will make better mistakes tomorrow.*

You won't find box elder bugs in my house...
No way! 

Sometimes, it seriously pains me to think of myself as any less than perfect.  I mean, I'm the wife, so I'm always right, right? And I'm the mom, so I make the rules, capiche?  I'm always perfectly put together, polite, and I only play the right notes on the piano at choir practice.  My kids are always well behaved and clean.  You can be sure that they don't fight over who has the biggest cookie, not my kids. My house is free and clear of every speck of dust and there is not a cat hair or box elder bug in sight. There are no piles of  wrinkled laundry waiting to be put away.  I don't ever have stacks of mail and paperwork hidden in my pantry.  I answer every phone call.  I am always prepared, cook every meal from scratch, and I'm never ever tired and grumpy.  

Oh, yeah, and I'm not sarcastic, either.  

I can hear the laughter.  It's kind of deafening.  

I may like thinking of myself as a modern June Cleaver, but the reality is, I am far from it. [I don't vacuum, much less in heels.]  I make the same dumb mistakes over and over again. I'm too busy, too tired, and sometimes, my attitude is just too crummy.  My priorities easily get out of whack, misconstrued by Facebook updates, YouTube tutorials, and Pinterest boards.  I spend too much money on shoes, too much time drinking coffee, and way too much energy beating myself up over all of it. I want to be perfect, but I can't even live up to my own expectations.

The sad truth is, I mess up.  A lot.  Thankfully, I have a lot of gracious, patient, loving friends and family who put up with my not-so hidden imperfections.  Even better, I have a loving, grace-giving God who hasn't finished with me.  He patiently endures my mistakes, my attitude, and my willful ways.  He puts up with my faux-perfections and my forced smile.  He never runs out of forgiveness for an imperfect person like me.

I'm afraid that I still have a lot more mistakes to make today.  I can't get away from it.  I'm a person.  And I'll make some more the next day, and the next, and even the day after that.  I hope that, in the words of that oft-seen Tattoo Pin, "I will make better mistakes tomorrow."  That Jesus will keep on working on me, and I will become a little more like Him each day. I am far from perfect, but I can trust the One that is, to redeem me and all my mistakes.


I am confident that the Creator, who has begun such a great work among you, will not stop in mid-design but will keep perfecting you until the day Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, returns to redeem the world. (Philippians 1:6, The Voice).


*This is a quote floating around Pinterest, especially on Tattoo boards.