This one’s for the ladies!!!
How many of y’all can say you have a perfect life, with a perfect home, perfect family, perfect job and perfect relationships? What if I asked if you think you’ve got your life figured out? I know I sure don’t.
Social media makes it so easy to pretend to have your life perfectly together. It also makes it easy to compare your life to others who you THINK have it all together – when the reality is that they don’t, and neither do we, but that’s okay. Here’s the truth: it often seems that we are imperfect and flawed by worldly expectations. I don’t put makeup on every day or dress cute all the time. I get anxious in large groups of people. I constantly compare myself to others and set standards that I know I’ll never meet. My marriage is far from perfect, and I struggle to maintain friendships because I can be introverted. But you know what else is true? God sees beauty in our flaws and imperfections, because they are the prelude to our story. The story of love, acceptance, adoration and redemption.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” — 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
No one has it all together, and no one is too broken for God’s love. We are all torn, damaged and flawed. The crazy thing is that no matter how broken we are or what our story is, the reckless love of God chases us down, pursues our hearts, and makes us something beautiful – and THAT is a story to be told. Jesus wants us to come to him, in all our brokenness, carrying all our broken pieces. God doesn’t just want the good parts of us, he wants it ALL. The good, the bad and the ugly.
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” — Mark 2:17 (NIV)
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted” — Psalm 34:18 (ESV)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
He opens his arms wide to embrace us in our brokenness. We can fall short of our own expectations, but we serve a mighty God who accepts us and constantly shows us grace, love and mercy. I am so, so thankful for a Father who never stops loving, never stops forgiving, and never stops pursuing, no matter how imperfect I am. Not only is our brokenness welcome at the cross, our brokenness is REDEEMED.
“You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord” — 1 Corinthians 6:11 (ESV)
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” — Romans 3:23-24 (ESV)
“Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story” — Psalm 107:2 (NIV)
I encourage every single one of you to go follow, subscribe, or at least check out, Jordan Lee Dooley from SoulScripts. She is truly inspiring and has started a movement that encourages every woman to know that our flaws tell a story worth so much more than how we see them.
y o u r b r o k e n n e s s i s w e l c o m e h e r e .
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July 25, 2018 at 10:40 am
Amen. We are all broken. We are loved and cherished by God. Our victory is in Him.
July 26, 2018 at 9:22 am
Yes! Thanks for reading, Melissa! 🙂
July 30, 2018 at 10:35 am
Beautifully written! God loves and accepts us in the way we are… And our brokenness in the presence of the Holy God can make us strong. Sara @ preciouswomb.com
July 30, 2018 at 8:48 pm
YES! Thanks so much for reading!
July 30, 2018 at 10:43 am
Thank so the reminder. None of us have it all together it’s okay to admit it 🙂
July 30, 2018 at 8:48 pm
Thanks for reading, Crystal! 🙂
July 30, 2018 at 12:15 pm
Thank you so much for your post. Yes, we are all broken and in need of a savior! The thing I’ve realized most in the past year is that I wouldn’t have a ministry if it wasn’t for my brokenness! He’s restored the years the locusts ate and given me a voice to love on others who are just a bit further behind me on this path of healing and recovery.
July 30, 2018 at 3:51 pm
That is so true. God uses our stories to meet others in the midst of their own struggles. Thanks so much for reading, Alynda! 🙂
July 30, 2018 at 1:09 pm
This is so true. We are all broken (including men, lol). It so easy for us to fall into the comparison traps when we don’t get to know each other on a deeper level. God loves us no matter who we are or how broken we are. Thanks
July 30, 2018 at 8:51 pm
YES, all of this is true – including men. 🙂 Thanks so much for reading!
July 30, 2018 at 3:22 pm
If life were perfect, we would never see our need for God. Thanks for such a great post! God bless!
July 30, 2018 at 3:51 pm
Amen! Thanks for reading, Nancy.
July 31, 2018 at 12:08 am
I know you said this one was for the ladies, but I couldn’t help myself.
Unfortunately, I think far too many of us are our own worst critics, and we are in constant need and reminding of exactly who we are in Christ. Thanks for a great post.
July 31, 2018 at 7:48 am
Scott, you are exactly right! Every single one of us is broken and in need of Jesus. Thanks so much for reading.
July 31, 2018 at 11:13 am
I think He is near to all us, aren’t we all broken hearted without Him?
July 31, 2018 at 3:48 pm
Absolutely. Thanks for reading, Rebecca!
July 31, 2018 at 1:26 pm
Dear Sydney Meek!
I’m aligned with you on the initial question of your blog post. The perspective of your thoughts here is great because God sees through all of our problems and see the person behind all that; that’s the true Gospel.
Yes, Jordan Lee Dooley does an amazing job in the Christian online community.
Blessings!
Edna Davidsen
July 31, 2018 at 3:49 pm
Amen. Thank you so much for reading, Edna! 🙂
July 31, 2018 at 5:40 pm
Loves this! You are speaking to me, and many others, I’m sure.
July 31, 2018 at 6:08 pm
Thanks for reading, Betty! 🙂
August 1, 2018 at 12:44 pm
This is awesome! What a perfect reminder, thank you so much for sharing!
August 1, 2018 at 3:52 pm
Thanks for visiting, Carolyn! 🙂
August 1, 2018 at 1:50 pm
I follow Jordan and I LOVE her giftings and how she is using them. We are all broken but we don’t have to stay that way! We can heal and we can grow and use all of our flaws for His glory!
Amen!
August 1, 2018 at 3:49 pm
I’m so glad I’ve found another one of her followers! Thanks for reading, Ashley! 🙂
August 1, 2018 at 3:09 pm
Great post, Sydney. God does his best work in our brokenness as he restores us through faith. Thank you so much for this reminder. This one is a keeper!
August 1, 2018 at 3:41 pm
Absolutely. Thanks for visiting, Marcie! 🙂
August 1, 2018 at 3:31 pm
Love that! I am a mess and so thankful for Jesus. I couldn’t make it without Him. I hadn’t heard of Jordan Lee Dooley before.
August 1, 2018 at 3:45 pm
You should definitely check her out, she’s an amazing writer and speaker. Thanks for reading, Heather! 🙂
August 1, 2018 at 4:51 pm
What a beautiful post. Psalm 34:18 has been a favorite verse of mine for years. How gracious God is to be so close to us in our brokenness. I can’t imagine the weight that is on the shoulders of young girls as they are born into this world of perfect social media images and personas. Thank you for being a refreshing voice. Beautiful post.
August 1, 2018 at 4:58 pm
I absolutely agree, women need to be raised to know their worth in Christ. Thank you for your sweet words, Stephanie! 🙂
August 1, 2018 at 6:31 pm
I love this. We need to remember that we are all broken, but placed together. Thank you for a great read.
Jessie
Your Story Matters.
http://www.onelostcoin.com
August 1, 2018 at 8:02 pm
Thanks so much for reading, Jessie!
August 2, 2018 at 9:18 pm
This: “God sees beauty in our flaws and imperfections, because they are the prelude to our story. The story of love, acceptance, adoration and redemption.” And forgiveness, that’s a biggie too. Thank you for this post, Sydney. Beautiful Scripture truths!
August 5, 2018 at 7:06 pm
YES! Forgiveness plays a huge role as well. Thanks for reading, Sara. 🙂
August 29, 2018 at 1:35 pm
So encouraging! In our society nowadays, it is SO easy to feel discouraged and not enough especially when we scroll through social media and see all these “perfect” pictures of someone’s life. Sydney, thank you for writing this. It is such a powerful reminder that my brokenness and imperfection do not define who I am but God does.
August 29, 2018 at 5:52 pm
Thanks for reading and commenting, Cynthia! I’m so glad it touched your heart. It’s definitely a message I need to remind myself every day!
August 29, 2018 at 3:32 pm
I love this Syndey. Comparison is so easy to do, but God definitely accepts us flaws and all. Even better, He still uses us to carry out his work in our brokenness.
August 29, 2018 at 5:49 pm
Amen! Thanks so much for reading, Brittany! 🙂