You know I admire women who don’t care what people think about them…..unfortunately I’m not one of them and I don’t think I’m alone. I am noticing a trend. Why is it that as women we are so hard on ourselves. We berate ourselves if we don’t have the perfectly organized house, the perfectly clean home, the perfect appearance, the most well behaved children and so on and so on. Why is it that we care so much about pleasing others? Why isn’t pleasing God enough? I’m quite certain God doesn’t care what my hair looks like but for some reason I can’t seem to leave my house unless I’m perfectly coiffed. There’s that word again. “Perfectly”….I despise that word. None of us are perfect. Period. Is it wrong to aspire to be perfect though? I suppose it depends on our motivation and our heart. Certainly it can’t be okay if we are only concerned by how others are judging us. When it comes to organizing so many of us are overwhelmed and discouraged by our moutains of clutter but lets make sure we want to change for the right reasons and not beat ourselves up if someone thinks less of us for it. Getting organized means freeing up time to spend on the things that really matter….spirituality, emotional well-being, physical health and loving relationships. These are the things that matter and that should motivate us…..not what others are thinking of us.
Now if you’ll excuse me I must go do my hair….
Tess says
you are so right! I think it’s because if we make things perfect, then nothing can go wrong, but that is not biblical, Job was perfect in the sight of GOD and has the most tragic life I’ve ever known.
Thank you for this post.
Mom2fur says
My house isn’t perfect by a long shot. But let me tell you, if you come here you will always feel welcome. You’ll feel you can stretch back on the couch and kick off your shoes. There is a difference between ‘lived-in’ and ‘slobby,’ though. Same goes for our personal selves. God gave us the bodies we live in and it is up to us to take the best care of them. That doesn’t mean expensive haircuts and fancy make-up, but I do believe it does mean combing your hair and brushing your teeth, LOL!
Julie Julie Bo Boolie says
BRAVO!
Annie says
…and next time you complain about your hair (which usually looks great anyway) I’ll remind you of this post!!!
Jenny says
Great post. I am one who does care what others may think, to a point. If I know someone is coming over for a visit my first reaction is”is the bathroom clean?” How bizarro is that?
I used to struggle with whether people liked me or not. However I have changed. I have learned that if someone doesn’t like me then it is their own loss. I don’t try and conform to something I am not and don’t like people that judge, or are immature in their thinking. In these cases I tend to distance myself and not give any sort of an effort. This took a little trial and error to come to this point of thinking! (sorry I’m rambling!)
But the whole hair and clean house thing…I totally understand!!! (unfortunately)
mom of 2 says
As I get older I’m learning not to place so much emphasis on what other’s opinions of me may be. My opinion of myself is what matters to me at the end of the day. I think many things boil down to self love and self acceptance. If I love myself for who I am then what anyone thinks of me doesn’t affect me. It’s taken me a long time to love myself (and I’m still working on it), but I’ve learned to like who I am. I loved this post!! (I do have to admit though that I don’t prefer to go to the store without makeup on and hair done!)
warpie says
Good point, maybe I’ll concentrate on doing one thing well rather than all the things I want to do well every day 🙂
Today’s one thing well is going to be taking puppy on date night. He loves to go to PetSmart. And I’m going with no makeup, unwashed hair in a sloppy pony tail that is curling every which way. And I bet if I look there are stains on my clothes. But a big smile on my face makes it all go away 🙂
Kim
Jen says
Scott and I always wondered why people loved coming to our home. Yes we know its in a convient location but we were having people POP up all the time. Well, before MIller came the house was spotless….NOW…well, its not. SO I have a hard time with pop ins. So I asked a dear friend one time why do people pop in on us all the time?????SHe said…your home always feels homey and welcome. You always have iced tea in the fridge and your door is always open…to her that was a family friendly home and she loved it. But, yes I guess me as a women always trys to have everything perfect but it wont be…..so I have given alot of this to God. And it has made me a better person. If you came by the house today…yes the door is open, there is iced tea in the fridge…but I have 3 loads of laundry to do…toys all over the living room floor and some dishes in the sink…I just say oh well…..the people still keep coming by…must be my southern charm. Have a great weekend…..
JEn
Sandra says
What a great post. I am like that too, and I think the main reason is because society makes it that way, you have to be a certain way and look a certain way to be accepted….unfortunately we all fall prey to that ridiculous lie.
Thanks for making me think about the way I am and how I should work harder to not worry so much what others think 🙂
GiBee says
I should have done my hair before I read this!
Katherine@Raising Five says
Loved this post. You are so right. I’ve gotten over much of my obsession with perfection just having a bunch of kids around. I just can’t do it all. But some semblance of order would be nice! Thanks for encouraging us all with your gentle spirit.