[Adventure] of the Imperfect Heart

[Adventure 250]

We were trying to decide which hand-carved (by my husband) heart to send to a friend/one of my chosen children. I had whittled our choices down to three (pun intended) and asked my husband his opinion. He knew which one was his favorite, but recognized it might not be our friend's favorite. He pointed out that one of the three - the one I was leaning toward - probably wasn't the one because it was imperfect. It wasn't carved as evenly as he would like it to be. 

I thought that maybe that's why it was perfect for our friend.

Sometimes we need reminders in our life that life isn't supposed to be perfect. We're not supposed to be perfect. And that there's beauty and grace in imperfection. 

This carved heart isn't perfectly symmetrical in shape or in color. One half is rounder than the other. It's lighter on one side and darker on the other, but there are dark parts on the light side and vice versa. 

Nevertheless, it's beautiful. 

Life is perfectly imperfect. We have experiences in life that uplift and inspire us and ordeals that are difficult to get through. Many times, the negative experiences seem to outweigh the positive. Embracing life's imperfection can help bad days have truly good moments; help us experience love and peace and grace in spite of the hate and chaos and anger in our lives. Help laughter alight in our hearts even as our soul mourns. 

No matter what we experience, we learn from it all - and perhaps it is the sadder or more stressful experiences that teach us the most about ourselves and what we want from and in our lives. 

One of the greatest gifts is the ability to see the beauty through and in the imperfections of life, and this friend is learning to live this out in wonderful ways.