Managing Perfection

It is amazing how many life lessons can be learnt just by observing the young and innocent.

My son was pestering me to help him draw a picture of his favorite Autobots – a new interest we have discovered unwittingly one night. However as I was busy tending to my newborn baby, I asked his uncle to draw it for him instead. It was probably an oversight on my part.

As my brother-in-law is quite the artist, he did a splendid job of recreating Ironhide and Jazz on paper and when my boy compared it to his relatively imperfect representation, he looked at me with soulful eyes. ‘Mummy, how come it looks so different?’. It broke my heart to see him so disheartened, as if it was impossible for him to attain such standard. Of course it is, he is only 4 years old! But the damage was done.

He shoved aside his own drawing and took upon his uncle’s creation as his own. I tried to convince him that it was ok and that his picture was good for his age but I guess he felt that I was just patronising him. I do hope he will still continue to draw.

I think as humans, we have an inner desire for perfection in everything that we do or possess but we fail to recognise that only God is perfect. When we look upon His holiness, it can be demoralising to see how far we fall short. In that, we too are just children no matter how old or experienced we are. And the sooner we manage our expectations, the faster we learn that lesson.