I was unable to participate in the Women’s March in Peoria Saturday, January 21, 2017. I was still feeling under the weather and didn’t quite grasp the entire concept of what the march was supposed to be about. If it was for the empowerment of women and to promote unity in our country — I was all for that. But as I scanned the photos and posts from several of my Facebook friends I wasn’t sure what the point of it was at all….so many negative messages! It wasn’t empowering to me at all. 
Then I came across a photo meme that really disturbed me above all. At first it looks pleasant and positive…. but then I thought about why it bothered me so much! This was the image. 

Now don’t get me wrong. It’s an absolutely BEAUTIFUL picture of a GORGEOUS little girl! It’s the words above that bother me so much…. right down to the core! “Women are Perfect.” Talk about pressure?! It almost bothered me more than some of the unethical Donald Trump comments. (This was from a male friend’s Facebook post BTW). 
Many women I know already feel inadequate and like they need to be perfect all the time. We see what the world sees as the “perfect woman” from a very small age. My 4 year old daughter Lucy sees Disney Princesses as the perfect woman. Not only from their perfect (impossible to get) bodies, but they have the right clothes, the right prince, and they are kind to all (all of the time)! They can sing, dance, and have it all together by the end of their happily ever after. During our awkward teen years — women see the models and celebrities as the perfect women. Then even into our adulthood I have people that I see as perfect and I want to be perfect like them. This is an illusion of course because NO ONE IS PERFECT! But the journey to become perfect feels never-ending…..
When Chad and I were struggling with infertility I put on a happy face most of the time but I was a mess inside. All of Chad’s tests came back normal while the problem was with my hormone levels being EXTREMELY low. I felt like I had failed as a woman. I was supposed to be able to bear children and now it wasn’t happening. 
From not liking the image in the mirror to seeing how perfect “so and so” can cook to how patient and “together” that mom is on the playground. Nothing rattles these women… so what’s wrong with me?! As a great author and friend of mine, Jill Savage says, “We have the perfection infection.” We strive to be perfect even though it is never attainable. The world puts this stigma on being perfect so we put on an act trying to be perfect and beat ourselves up on the inside when we don’t achieve our goals of perfection. Talk about feeling like a failure….
But the good news is this! God doesn’t care about perfect! In fact He is the ONLY ONE who is perfect. He loves us through our imperfections and continues to tell us that we are beautiful to Him! If we were perfect then we would have no need for Him. But because we aren’t perfect we need to rely on Him in our lives. To look through his eyes and see the beauty that we are! Only when we ask Him into our lives and reach our heavenly goal will we be made perfect in His image through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ!