I’m a do-your-best kind of girl. When I take on a task, I want to give it my best shot, give 110%, and go all-in. After all, my time is valuable. Like all moms, I’m pulled in many different directions and have lots of people who depend on me. So if I’m going to spend my precious time on any given task or project, I have to care about it. And if I really care about it, I give it my all. Otherwise, it’s a waste of my time.
People I know call me a perfectionist. But I don’t think that’s accurate. There are lots of things I don’t care much about and I’m good at phoning those things in. Housework, for instance. I’m not a slob but when things are busy (which they usually are) my homemaker energies are focused on clean clothes, clean dishes, and trying to at least organize the piles of stuff around the house, if not actually putting them away. Dusting, mopping, and vacuuming are VERY low on my priority list. Don’t even think about cleaning toilets or (gasp) grout! But there are also a lot of things I do care about. And, for those things, I strive for my best.
I used to think that my desire to do a good job was prideful. Don’t get me wrong. At times that’s what it is. But then I learned about the virtue of magnanimity. Magnanimity is the virtue of desiring greatness in order to glorify God or magnify His greatness. Talk about a game-changer!
So now, when I’m working hard on something and desiring it to be successful, I offer my work and my success to God and I make a conscious effort to give Him the credit for both. Sometimes that credit is an internal reminder to myself. Sometimes it’s proclaiming God’s greatness with my words to other people who take notice of my work. But either way, I am putting myself in the proper place in my relationship to God-at His service.
Do you strive for greatness? Have you been accused of being a perfectionist? If so, embrace the virtue of magnanimity and let the world see God’s glory through the work of your hands.
Copyright 2017 Laura B Nelson.
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This article was originally published at CatholicMom.com and is shared here with permission.
