Meditation for Perfectionists – Tuesday September 15, 2026
Accepting the Mediocre “Stuff”
Philippians 4:12: “…I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Sometimes when I’m preparing for a teaching assignment, the right words, activities, and examples refuse to come. I may work all day, even several days, knowing I haven’t done my best work. Mediocre “stuff” is all I seem to create. At this time, I have a choice. I can become frustrated, quit and get behind schedule. I can obsess, spending painstaking hours on one point until I go crazy. Or I can choose to keep working whether I think it is excellent or not. The following simple comments from Melody Beattie’s book, The Language of Letting God, helped me be more accepting during these frustrating times. “There are days when our best is less than we hoped for. Let those times go too. Start over tomorrow. Work things through, until our best becomes better.”
Like Paul, sometimes our best results in poverty, others times in prosperity. Learning to be content with both our best performances and our could-be-better times will lessen our anxiety and help us live more peaceful and accepting lives.
Lord, I can only do my best at any given moment.
Help me to be content with my fluctuating “best.”
Copyright Joan C. Webb
For more from Joan Webb visit www.joancwebb.com