Got Flintstones?

As a kid I hated vitamins. My mom would buy the Flintstones. You know, the ones everybody loves. I thought they tasted like chalk.

Every morning I would plop down for breakfast and to my dismay two vitamins would be lurking next to my bacon and eggs. So the scheming began.

I would slide the vitamins in my pockets while pretending to chew and swallow. (Looking back I seriously should have considered a career in Vegas- just kidding) I chose under the microwave as my successful drop off place. I mean really, who ever cleans under their microwave?

The pile of Flintstones under the microwave multiplied as I delightfully slipped them out of my pocket every morning.

Then came vacation and the race to find a new hiding spot. The toilet! I threw the vitamins in, flushed, and danced out of the bathroom thinking I was brilliant.

Busted.

I never checked to see if the vitamins went down. Needless to say, my rear end still twitches when I see a bottle of Flintstones.

My mom loves to tell the story of the time she lifted the toilet seat up only to have two Flintstones vitamins staring back at her.

If it weren’t for vacation my habit of hiding vitamins might never have been discovered. It was the change in location, the move from my comfort zone where my routine of hiding was perfected that caused my secret to be revealed.

I’m now 22 and happily can report that I no longer hide my vitamins. Though, I did catch myself hiding other things. These things were not tangible they were thoughts.

Perfection. My thoughts were so entangled with the idea of being perfect. I knew that was wrong so I hid the desire away. Since I couldn’t see it, I believed it was gone.

Then came graduation, moving, a new apartment, new city, new friends, new everything.

Busted.

This time it wasn’t my mom. It was my Father. My heavenly Father.

As I stepped into this new place where my routine of hiding was altered it became painfully obvious that I was hiding behind perfectionism.

I learned a long time ago that I couldn’t control the actions of others nor did I want to. Instead I wanted to control my own. I strived for perfection in my grades, my running, and my body. I tried to be the perfect daughter, sister, and friend. I hid behind this ideal that if I failed the things I cared about most would crumble or disappear.

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”  - 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus achieved my righteousness and I am united with Him so I am free of condemnation.

For me, this meant turning from my craving of perfectionism and accepting His righteousness and worshiping Him for it!

I am messy and imperfect. I say things that I should keep to myself, and I laugh when I should be serious. But oh how Jesus loves me. I don’t have to be perfect with Him because He is perfection.

Then I saw this video by Jeff Bethke and I wanted to clap my hands. It’s exactly what God has been showing me!

 Jeff & Alyssa Bethke, if you don’t know who they are you are missing out. Youtube and google them! Watch the videos and read their blogs.