Most of you already know about my theory of “sloppy success.” Basically, I believe that you can’t have perfect success as a mom. It’s just waaay too unrealistic. You can have perfect failure or sloppy success. Perfect failure happens when we set our standards so high that we end up getting nothing done at all. It’s the old, “if I can’t do it right, then I’m not going to do it at all” syndrome. That’s no way to live. Instead, I opt for sloppy success. I may not always be able to do it right, but I’m always able to do it good enough.
Well, I saw sloppy success in action this past weekend–all thanks to Karis.
This past summer…
when we were doing some outdoor work, we noticed that the roof to our cat house was broken beyond repair. So, we trashed it with the intention of buying or building a new one. Summer left, fall came and went, and we totally forgot about replacing it.
The day that we got back from vacation this past week was an especially cold one. In fact, it was so cold that it actually snowed! The cats were huddled up outside on the back porch to get warm because they no longer had a house to climb into. Just then, Karis came to the rescue. He took Kenna and Klara’s plastic table (don’t worry; they’ll get it back), and took it outside. He then got an old blanket and put in underneath and scattered some towels and a heavy rug over the top so that it made walls around the bed with a little door in the middle. The cats immediately climbed in and snoozed all night long. Then morning came and they decided to sunbathe on top of it!
Hey, it wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t perfect but it worked! It was sloppy success!
It can be very tiring being a mom. We always have to come up with solutions and make everything flow in our homes. The last thing we need is the pressure to do it all perfectly. God doesn’t tell us we need to do it all perfectly. He tells us we need to do it RIGHT. There’s a big difference.
And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. Galatians 6:9
Acting nobly and doing right–now, that’s a pretty big job, but it is one that we can certainly handle with God’s help. There is no more noble job than to be a mother. And when we pour our energy into our families and our homes, we are indeed acting with a noble purpose. God also lays out very specific guidelines for our thoughts, actions, and behaviors. We need to be doing RIGHT. Deep inside, we know if there are things in our lives that are not right. The more we hold on to these things that pull us away from God, the more difficult and laborious we make our lives. God will bless our efforts when they are noble and when they are right. Thankfully, they can be sloppy now and then. God doesn’t look at the finished product, He looks at the heart behind it.
This verse also comes with a great promise–we shall reap! Are there things you want to reap in your life? A happy marriage? Financial peace? A close family? These things can happen but we cannot loosen our grip. Sure, it gets tough now and then, but giving up is not an option for a mom. We can’t do it all; and we certainly can’t do it all perfectly. But we can do those things that are noble and right. And that’s all God asks of us. Leave the rest up to Him!
Laundry Mom~Hannah♥
