Yelling at my son.
That’s what I was doing while rolling out the dough to make the communion bread for our church’s Lord’s Supper.
Not my finest moment.
The next morning I lay that small, baked square on my Bible for a little longer than usual. Imperfect bread, made with imperfect hands, representing the most perfect gift ever given.
The idea of imperfection has been on my mind a lot lately. So many things we do imperfectly. As our students counted down the last few seconds of the school year, my mind went to all the less than stellar moments of this past year–the things I wish we could have done better or wonder if we should have done differently. There is so much more I wish we could do for these students and their families. There have also been things we have done this school year that have left me on my knees asking, “God, did we do that right?”
It weighs on me–all of the things I do imperfectly.
It should, right? We have been called to live for, serve and glorify a Holy and Incredible God. Shouldn’t our works meet that bar?
As I sat in church that Sunday many weeks ago, analyzing that little imperfectly baked piece of bread in front of me, the realization suddenly washed over me: there isn’t a better memorial to remember the sacrifice of our Savior.
Yes, we are imperfect.
But that’s the point, isn’t it?
God knows all about our less than great moments. He also knows all the ways we fall short, not just in our righteousness, but also in our ability, in our wisdom, and even sometimes in our desire to do what He is asking us to do.
The whole reason we need a perfect Savior is because we can’t do it perfectly.
But here’s the great part…God doesn’t expect us to.
The cracker we take in “Remembrance of me” is made into something wonderful and holy, not by how well I cut out the little squares, but instead by the body of the Savior it represents. Our works each day accomplish God’s will, not by our perfect execution of them, but instead by His perfect and holy presence within us that comes alongside our willingness and does incredible things!
This year has definitely not been perfect by human standards. It has, however, been perfectly used by God. I know He is working in each and every person at our school as well as in and through each and every situation we have faced.
As we close out this school year, I thank God for His faithfulness in using us, even just a little, in the lives of these students and their families. We won’t get it all right, but I pray that God allows us to keep showing up and trying, and that each year He continues working in our hearts and lives so that we do this a little better each time.
I want to encourage you today as well–whatever it is that maybe you are struggling to do or are unsure if you are capable of doing, know that God isn’t asking for you to do it perfectly. He’s just asking you to step out in imperfection, allowing Him to square off the rough edges of what you offer and use what you give to His glory.
Marcy Brown and her husband, Mike, serve at SAM Academy in Pucallpa, Peru. They use their gifts as teachers to serve the missionary families of the area.
