Flylady, Creativity and Pervasive Perfectionism

I am so happy to be participating in some crafting swaps associated with the crafting weekend coming up this fall. One of the swaps is an ornament swap in which each participant prepares an ornament containing her assigned portion of I Corinthians 13. After we make our swaps, we will each have a whole set of ornaments to display on a tree or a swag or wherever our hearts desire.

My part of the Love Chapter is “Love is patient.” I actually teared up when I read my assignment because I feel like God is always, always teaching me patience. And He is so very, very patient with me in His teachings. I designed an ornament on paper that I envisioned would not take me a million years to complete (since I am making 17 of them). I located everything I needed to complete my prototype and I started in on it this weekend while we were spending several hours in the car.

While I was working on it, I kept feeling inadequate. I kept thinking, Oh, the other gals are probably all mixed media artists and here I am working exclusively with fibers. Or, The other gals are probably used to very elaborate pieces and this is too simple. Then, I began having some challenges with some of the materials I was using and the whole ornament, with which I had been very happy on paper, was not turning out the way I wanted it to.

So, today I got the prototype back out, looked through some of my design books, got some better ideas on how to get the look I wanted and I started in, again, on my second ornament. I was trying a new technique for achieving the look I wanted and the whole time I was learning it, I was saying to myself, Oh, this really isn’t ever going to turn out the way I want it to. And, I will disappoint everyone else who is participating in this swap.

Then, I looked down at what I was actually embroidering. Love is patient. Love is PATIENT. I can be patient with myself. God is patient with me. I can be patient with myself.

Once I got a little perspective, I saw that the new technique was, indeed, giving me the effect I sought. And, I reminded myself, I am not expecting some insanely perfect ornament from any other gal participating, so why should I expect that of myself. I will not be disappointed in any participant’s ornament. Why would they be disappointed with mine?

Love is patient.