The Perfectionist

Mini Short Story

"I can't do anything right..." mumbles the teenager. 

After a fight with her friend, the 15 year old girl feels alone more than ever. She has never been good at communication and this was one of those times. The friends were at the park talking about each others lives. One of her friends brought up something sensitive to the group. Knowing her friend is looking for validation and a listening ear, she searches for ways to help her, but instead ends up saying something completely wrong. Even though this was not her intent, she realizes how much her friend seems hurt by it. She immediately apologizes and tries to reconcile her mistake, but it seems to have little effect on the guilty verdict.

Feeling embarrassed and frustrated with herself, she storms home. Once inside, she starts reading a book to calm herself down. After 30 minutes, the girl feels calmer. After she calmed down she was able to think a little more clearly. She decided to examine her past accomplishments. The one thing they all had in common was hard work and experience. To learn anything, experience is needed. How can we gain experience in any area if we do not make mistakes?

We are all learning every day. We all make mistakes; the important thing is what we do with them. We can't change the past, all we can do to is learn from our mistakes. Your identity does not rest in your mistakes, but it rests in your heart. The Bible says in Mathew 6:21 (ESV), "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I wrote this a while back:

"My strife is not unnoticed,
No matter how many times I think it is.
I can't leave this day until I know that it is okay:
It's okay to make mistakes,
It's okay to be me,
It's okay to admit I am wrong.
It's okay to say no,
Because this world does not revolve around me.
It's okay to be left,
It's okay to fail,
It's okay to not be perfect,
It's the heart that counts, not your performance.
It's okay to open your heart to others,
For the good Lord is here with me.
It's time to cling to the truth of who God's word says I am."

Question of the Day:

What can you learn from today?

Comments are welcomed :-)