I don’t know about you, but my life seems to be filled to the brim as I navigate motherhood, marriage, accomplishing my personal goals and pursuing the dreams inside my heart. It can all feel like a juggling act trying to keep all the plates spinning and keep them from hitting the ground.

Maybe you’re a student, a stay-at-home mom, an entrepreneur, a musician or an athlete. Whatever role you play or responsibilities you carry, there’s an unspoken pressure we often place on ourselves to be everywhere, do everything and get it all done - sometimes within a single day.

We pride ourselves on getting it all done and doing it perfectly. We want to be the best wife, CEO, friend and Christ follower. So when we drop the ball, or the figurative plate we have been spinning on our heads, we are hard on ourselves.

We can be unkind to ourselves trying to measure up to the standards we have placed on ourselves. When we have everything under control or when we can do things perfectly, we feel safe.

I have learned that pursuing perfection is exhausting and frustrating. No matter how hard we try, how capable and strong we are, not everything is going to be perfect. Whether we are striving for our own version of perfectionism or striving for someone else’s version, it’s exhausting and surely doesn’t bring the best out in us.

But, I am so glad that God isn’t asking for perfection. Rather, He has made room for our weaknesses and our imperfections — His grace.

Rather than asking ourselves, “Did I get it all done?” I believe we should ask ourselves, “Am I doing it well?” and “Was I faithful with what He has entrusted me with today?”

Doing it well means we are considering the Lord in our daily plans, our responsibilities and in the commitments we say yes to. It means being still before the Lord and asking Him what He thinks about our to-do list. When we seek Him, He will show us what He is asking from us, where we should place our efforts and how we should spend our time.

Time with Him reminds us that we aren’t meant to do it all or to do it all perfectly, but in our weakness we are made strong.

He will reveal to you what to release and relinquish, and encourage you where you feel most defeated. As you respond to His leading, you will experience His grace. His grace that gives you the power to do all that’s in your hands! You will begin to walk in greater joy, knowing that what He has placed in your hands to do, matters to Him.

No more striving for perfection because we understand our strength comes from surrendering our everyday lives to Jesus.

Take a deep breath in and exhale out, take the pressure off yourself! Do that a couple times if you need to, as often as you need to. And, if you start leaning toward striving and feeling defeated, remember this:

“Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, New Living Translation)

Permission to be Weak