I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. Philippians 3:12 NLT

I have spent a good chunk of my adulthood searching for the solution to preparing the perfect fried egg. I’ve seen short-order cooks using rings on their grills but I can’t find a ring that will keep all my egg solution contained. Perhaps it has something to do with the consistently high temperature of a restaurant grill to make the egg cook evenly and perfectly.

I had given up serving fried eggs to guests because every attempt looked like something the garbage truck ran over. Then one day, as I wandered through housewares at Walmart, I saw it. Appropriately named, it was the One Egg Wonder! A perfect little 41/2 inch skillet complete with a steam vented lid, a must in my world of pots and pans. I wasn’t sure I could work with this tiny pan, even on my smallest burners. But, lo and behold, it was perfect! Just spray a tiny bit of oil on the surface, set the temperature at medium-high, and add an egg. I top it with a little celery salt, then the lid and let it steam until it reaches our preferred doneness. That’s all there is to it and I cook one perfect egg after another. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve declared my love for that wonderful tiny pan. Not only are the eggs perfectly round, but they have minimal fat added to them and they slide right out of the skillet wherever I want to put them.

I began to wonder what I’d do if my lid were broken so I went back to get a second pan and there were none to be found. We have located the skillet with a lid but no steam vent. So, of course, I exercise extreme care not to damage the one I have. Perhaps my efforts seem a tiny bit extreme as has been my fixation with perfection. After all, there is no such thing as perfection in our very imperfect human world. Yet, many of us strive for it and we often demand perfection from those around us.

When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are. Donald Miller

What would our world be like if we stop looking for the flaws in people, the chinks in their armor, the tiny details that make them less than perfect in our eyes? In God’s eyes, we are all perfect children because He made us that way.

So how does the human mind turn off its quest for perfection? Maybe we need to give our hearts more sway in our everyday behaviors than we give our minds. Maybe we need to stop overthinking everything we do and thus lower our expectations of perfection. Maybe we need to stop believing we deserve certain rewards and remember that if we really got all that we deserved, we probably wouldn’t be remotely pleased with the result. Jesus didn’t deserve to be beaten and tortured and nailed to a cross, but it happened, nonetheless. He accepted His fate because He loved us.

Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. Bryan Stevenson

And Jesus continues to love us today, warts and all. No matter what we’ve done or how unclean we have become, He loves us. I always appreciate when Pastor Sarah thanks Him for accepting us as we are but isn’t willing to leave us where He finds us. He always wants to draw us closer, hug us tighter, and provide generously in every way. Perfection is only found in heaven. Until that day comes, we can only strive to be the best people we can be with the help of the One who is perfect. 

But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

I Corinthians 13:10 NLT

My steamed eggs have reached a certain level of excellence. I can count on being able to serve them without flinching or making excuses. Now, could someone please offer some advice for my omelet endeavors?

I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can reach for, perfection is God’s business. Michael J. Fox