Blog – 7-22-15
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Cor. 12:9.
As I write this blog, I am literally sitting on an airplane heading to Nashville. I’m always excited and filled with anticipation as I head to my “home away from home,” but this trip holds even more excitement than usual because I will be starting a new CD project! I will actually be in the studio on the day you get this blog to begin recording songs for a Christmas CD entitled “King of Kings.” I’m super stoked about sharing the amazing songs God has given me and my co-writers for this project. I know it sounds weird to start a Christmas project in the heat of July, but that’s how it goes!
So many thoughts are bombarding my brain…Have I picked the right songs to record? Will the CD turn out as great as I think it will? How will God use this CD? Is it going to be as perfect as I hope? Yesterday I woke up with an intense sense of angst about the project and the trip that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. There were lots of scheduling issues I was dealing with and travel details, but there was something else I wasn’t able to pinpoint. I went directly to God in prayer about it, and I also prayed with my husband. I had some answers, but I sensed there was more God needed to reveal.
This will be my fifth full-length project, and I feel very adamantly that it will be my best project yet. The songs are the strongest I’ve ever written, but are they good enough? I always wonder if I should wait a little bit longer, write “just one more” song to see if it’s the perfect one for the project, or take just a couple more vocal lessons before I record.
I will spend many, many hours making this the best project possible. I will sing my heart out and re-sing everything until it’s the best I can possibly do. I know, however, that two years from now when I listen to the CD, I will probably hear all kinds of things I wish I would have done differently. It will never be perfect. God has shown me very clearly, however, that I need to go forward with the project and trust Him with the rest.
It finally hit me while I was sitting here on the plane writing about this that the majority of the angst I felt yesterday morning was about something very simple….wanting this project to be “perfect.” My perfectionism really comes alive during times like this. I have a post-it note on my desk that says, “Perfection is the enemy of progress.” Profound truth is hidden in that simple phrase. If we waited until everything was perfect to move forward in our lives, we would remain forever stuck. Nothing will ever be totally, 100 percent perfect on this earth. We will have precious moments in time we want to save forever in our memories, but true perfection is saved for eternity! Things will truly be perfect only when we are face to face with our Savior, Jesus Christ!
The Good News is God doesn’t ask for perfection from any of us. His Word tells us in 2 Cor. 12:9, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” Oh, how I love His word and how it speaks to every situation we face! God isn’t asking me to make a “perfect” project any more than He is asking any of us to be “perfect” Christians. He is asking us to give our best, knowing that His power will show up in our weakness. His grace is sufficient.
So armed with that truth, I have a renewed peace and determination to give my best and let God do the rest. I will step out in faith and go to the studio on Wednesday. I will give it my all, knowing it will never ever be perfect, but in my weakness God will make it amazing.
I’m choosing to opt for progress and leave perfection to God!
Hugs and love,
~Jill