In the Balance

“It all comes down to where we want to be in the balance between time and perfection“, were the words that came out of my mouth. In context, I was speaking about a (math) test development project on which I am currently working. Many test items still need review and revision. Some are in better shape than others. It’s my nature to want them all to be as perfect as possible before they are printed for the “try out” administration, but there is also the reality of time constantly breathing down our proverbial necks. It really was stating the obvious.

As soon as my ears fed those words back into my brain, I realized it was true of SO MANY things in life – and especially in student life. When is good-enough good enough? When do we say, “This is the best that I can do in this amount of time – and no more”? Once I realized the banality of what I had spoken, I tried to think of instances where such would NOT be the case. That was proving difficult until the thought came “What if time was not an issue?”

Then it dawned on me! That’s why we are commanded: Be ye therefore perfect . It’s not because the Savior is asking the impossible, it’s because it IS possible through His grace, and time is not an issue, because thanks to Him, we will each have as much time as we need to accomplish that with Christ as our perfect mentor and advocate.

That realization brought such sweet peace. I (once again) realized that my life is too often crammed too full of ‘good’ things that at times cloud (or crowd) the ‘best’ things.

It also helped me understand that perfect “evaluations” are also possible when time is not an issue.