A Prayer to Embrace Imperfection - Your Daily Prayer - May 14

A Prayer to Embrace Imperfection
By Lia Girard

Bible Reading:
Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. — Isaiah 64:8

Listen or Read Below:

I get teased in my house sometimes for how many bowls I want to hold. It's not that I own many bowls; it's just that everywhere I go, I'm drawn to them. More often to the ones that show the hand of its maker. I love clay, wood, and ceramic things that are purposely, imperfectly shaped. It seems to be a representation of grace. A symbol of accepting beauty in imbalance and even the awkwardness of not fitting or stacking a certain way. 

While humans in general can be attracted to an onslaught of visuals and promises of a generally accepted description of perfection, God's word defines what’s true. That we are all works in progress in his hands, continually being shaped and molded. In the analogy in Isaiah 64 of God the Father as the Potter, working us like clay... we can imagine this includes firing, glazing, and breaking. There may be parts of us that shine, sections of us that are missing, and purposes we may want to serve, but may no longer be able to provide. 

To dive deeper into this analogy, clay changes in chemistry once fired. It can't go back to being as pliable as it was on day one. However, even broken ceramics can be refined into grog for strengthening clay or worked thoughtfully into beautiful mosaics. In the same way, no matter what we've been through, our Father knows how to shape, reshape, and continuously recreate. He uses every shattered place and covers our imperfections with his grace.

I like thinking that although humanity can feel driven to obsession with perfection, we still belong to God. We can apply coverings and adhesives, but he holds us together. God fashioned a lifetime on this earthly side of eternity that is temporary. Our physical bodies cannot be expected to retain perfection. None of us will escape every illness, the reality of aging, and the certainty of death. But along the way, we have the great privilege of appreciating his plan. We can allow our failings, when shared, to grow compassion and community. We learn to draw closer to God when we make mistakes. And we can ask and offer forgiveness to cover our multitude of sins. 

Even in places or with people who appear perfect, we can be certain there is a part that is yet undone. There’s some facet that someone anywhere could deem imperfect. And in admitting that, we realize that all of our imperfections are actually an ongoing mosaic of life that God is continuously working. 

Romans 8:28 reminds us that he works all things for good. And I wonder if sometimes getting wrapped up in pursuing perfection is an attempt to push God out of the picture. To pretend that we are finished, that we have it all together, and that we always will. 

God didn't intend us to carry that weight. He knows we will bend, break, and be remade by him as he handles the weight for us. So the next time you're shining a light on something that you feel is imperfect about you, please imagine a piece of art somewhere, or a tree releasing its leaves, or a friend whose heart is their most beautiful part. Allow what you think is imperfect to instead be exactly what's needed in your layer or section of the masterpiece of God.

You may be confused by Matthew 5:48, which says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” but this is a calling to mature in your soul toward unconditional love. It is a call to allow God to “perfect” or “sanctify” you in his hands and in his timing, as you follow his commands. Only God’s grace can get us there. Lean into the work of his hands, embracing and extending grace for every imperfection along the way. 

Let’s Pray:

Lord, I’m ready to admit imperfection. I’m tired of striving toward a moving target when no two people or places are the same.

Help me not to see imperfections as a setback, but as a window through which your light shines. Help me accept my intricate pattern, and to let you make and perfect me the way you desire. Show me the beauty of brokenness and how not having it all together makes me a vessel for your grace.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Share your reflections on today’s devotional in the Your Daily Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/gorodenkoff 

Lia Girard is a seasoned writer and voice artist who formerly served as the Faith Editor for Crosswalk.com. She is the author of Wisdom at Wit’s End: Abandoning Supermom Myths in Search of Supernatural Peace, and enjoys spending time with her husband and grown children or walking in the woods with God.

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