"Perfectly Imperfect" by Karen Rogers

Did you notice how nearly impossible it was, during most of 2020, for an hour of conversation to pass or a page of text to be read without someone using the word "unprecedented"? Indeed, "unprecedented" may be one of the most frequently used English words right now.

Well, scooch over "unprecedented" because it's time for another old standby to step in to use – "resolution." Isn't this a time when most of us think about what new resolve will improve the quality of our lives? We begin the year with good-hearted, earnest intentions to fix what has been broken or has fallen short of perfection in our habits or attitudes. That's surely true for me. In fact, I have so many personal traits that need fixing that I sometimes become overwhelmed and skip straight from resolve to resignation. That may be why an article I read recently struck a responsive chord within me.

I didn't really expect much from it when I saw an article entitled "Perfectly Imperfect" in Travel Trivia (12/22/20). I read, nonetheless. The unnamed author introduced me to a new Japanese term, which I recognized from the description—wabi-sabi. It seems wabi-sabi is a Japanese term that is all about "finding and embracing the beauty of life's imperfections, both in material goods and the human existence." Rather than discarding what is broken or worn in the passage of time, it can be loved and celebrated. In fact, there is a Japanese art form (kintsugi) in which broken ceramics are repaired with a paste of gold lacquer. By filling in cracks with gold, "kintsugi shows off the beauty of an object's age, rather than trying to fix it and hide its errors."

Reading about wabi-sabi and kintsugi put me in mind of the beloved children's classic, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. Rabbit had been loved so much that his beautiful velveteen fur was shabby, his tail was coming loose, and all the pink had rubbed off his nose where Boy had kissed him. Nonetheless, he was the most-loved toy.

Then the image of broken pottery being mended reminded me of the Jeremiah 18 passage in which the potter takes what has been spoiled and remakes it into something pleasing.

In a world where perfection is sought after in nearly everything—from appearances to possessions—we might do well to lean more toward the practice of finding and embracing the beauty of life's imperfections. Whether it's wrinkles on a face, a toddler who is going through a stage of petulance, or falling short, once again, in a resolution to do or be more perfect than we were last year, perhaps these imperfections have stories to be celebrated.

As Paul reminded believers, in his second letter to the church in Corinth:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (2 Corinthians 4:7-12 ESV)

Perhaps, with the gift of God's grace, while we "press toward the mark," 2021 can find us and our world more Perfectly Imperfect.