One that we have seen on signs in most recent years is…

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much,
simple but says a lot.

One I have hanging on my wall says,
Life
is not measured by the amount of breathes that you take but by the moments
that take your breath away.

Here is my picture collection on the wall. Is there
anything that you notice about my “Life” picture?

I cannot tell you how many times I have straightened
this picture. I do not like my picture frames to be crooked. I straighten them
the moment I notice them.

Why? because I want them to appear orderly. I am not
sure why this “Life” is always crooked. But it is. Always.

I am not sure if it is due to the lack of insulation
in the walls and every time a car drives by it rattles it crooked on the wall.
I am not sure if it is trying to irritate me or if I am supposed to have this
perspective on my “Life”.

You see every time I look at my crooked “Life” framed
on the wall staring at me- taunting me- I am a bit uneasy.

I am reminded that I can walk over there and simply
try to fix it for the time being, just to become crooked the next day, or if I
am supposed to accept the fact that my “Life” is just imperfect.

I have chosen to go with the latter choice. I have now
accepted the fact that my imperfect picture arrangement is a daily reminder
that life is just imperfect and I can be okay with imperfect.  

There are many temptations in this world especially
with social media to be bogged down, feel discouraged, or even downright
depressed by my imperfect life.

We look all over social media and we mostly get
everyone’s best foot forward. Pictures of happy smiling families, traveling the
globe far and wide and having the greatest adventures anyone could ever come up
with.

I am not saying people don’t have happy families or
great adventures. I’m saying, in reality, hanging on the walls of everyone’s
lovely abode is a crooked “Life”.

Lives full of imperfections, struggles, and hardships.
Lives full of things that get under our skin. Sometimes you just don’t know if
you want to go in for the quick fix or accept the imperfection and learn how to
love it for what it really is.

I can be a bit of a perfectionist. I want my kids to
walk and talk and think like me, kind of. I want my husband to agree with all the
wonderful things that float from my mouth. I want the traffic to part way as I
drive down the street.

But then hanging on the wall of my house is my “Life”
staring me right in the eye, saying it is okay.

It is okay that your kids are not perfect. It is
okay that your husband, although he adores you, doesn’t agree with your every
whim or listen to you blabber on about things that don’t really matter. It is
okay that as you travel through life you encounter things and situations that
are tough.

Why? Where can I get that assurance? Where can I
find rest in my uncertainties?

I find them in my rescuer. I find them in the God
who assures me peace when life is beyond my understanding. I find them in the
promises of a God that reminds me that He will never leave me nor forsake me.

I find assurance in my creator. The One that loved
me first. The One that doesn’t promise me an easy road but assures me of an
eternal hope.

This truth gives
them confidence that they have eternal life, which God–who does not
lie–promised them before the world began. Titus 1:2

Then
Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am
humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  

Matthew 11:28-29

“As for God,
his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge
in him.” 2 Samuel 22:31

I need that. I need the assurances that only God can
give. I need His promises to me to mark out my path. I need to know that
imperfect is sometimes the best I have and it is okay because I serve a God
that loves me anyway and there I find my refuge. 

To Read More Encouraging Posts Check Out These Recent Posts: Grace and Mercy,    
My Hope In Him, and You Are His Masterpiece. 
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