Perfectly Imperfect – Breath of Life Women's Ministries

by Jenny Harrison

A few months ago, one of my dearest girlfriends was feeling a bit under the weather. Now I am not the most domestic in the kitchen but there are a couple of dishes she is fond of so I thought it might be the perfect pick me up if I took dinner to her. So food in tow I headed to her home to deliver a meal.

A few weeks later I swung by her house and she had some of my dishes ready to pick up. When I arrived she had a funny kind of look on her face and admitted that she had a confession. “When I was washing the lid to your covered dish, I accidentally dropped it and it shattered when it hit the ceramic tile.”

My friend is an avid garage sale/flee market/estate auction enthusiast and she wasted no time combing through every sale listed in the papers to replace my small casserole lid. She found several coverings and she just knew one would be perfect but to her disappointment the best fit was close but obviously not the ideal fit she hoped it would be.

When she explained all she went through to fix the broken lid issue, the first thought that went through my mind is “What in the world did I do in this life to deserve a friend so loving and kind.” While she was obviously concerned about the accident, I was touched beyond words that she would search high and low to replace that silly old lid.

With a good laugh and a hug I took home my dish with its new misfit covering.

I have washed that dish for years and each time it was just another dirty dish to wash. But now I wash my dinnerware with its oddball lid and I grin from ear to ear. The imperfection is the perfect reminder of the never-ending love of a true friend. The bowl and lid have a special purpose and that is to serve. The ability to function and purpose are not diminished by wear, tear, chips, or mismatched parts.

In the same manner, my Father uses me to serve in spite of my weakness and flaws. I am no more than an imperfect vessel serving through my limitations and yet my Lord desires for me to serve with faith and confidence in His perfect strength.

In Paul’s speech to the Corinthians, he explains so movingly the strength of grace through our weakness. I can only imagine the relief he felt when he came to grips with this reality. His words touch my heart:

Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:6-10 (NIV)

Lord my prayer is that you consistently remind me that it is never necessary to have it “all together” or “just right” to serve you. Keep me open to Your direction and create in me a servant’s heart. I pray when this day passes that I have not missed an opportunity to share Your love and ease the journey for a struggling soul. In Your most precious name, Amen.

This post is lovingly dedicated to Nique. Happy 50th birthday my friend. Thank you for loving me flaws and all.