In her book The Gifts of Imperfection, Brené Brown defines wholehearted living as engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. “To live wholeheartedly is to cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, ‘No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough.’” The only thing I might add to this definition is, “I am enough in Christ.”
Wholehearted living was an unfamiliar concept until my young adult years. Growing up, my parents taught me the importance of hard work and the mantra, “If you work hard enough, you can do anything you set your mind to.” Honestly, they were right. My hard work seemed directly tied to good grades, success at dance competitions, and college acceptance letters. I began to think I alone could achieve the desires of my heart.
During these years, I approached my walk with God in the same way, through to-do lists and perfectionism. After a while, I started to become confused and distraught. Why did others around me seem to have deep insight into their relationship with God and I didn’t? Why couldn’t I hear God as they did? I was checking my quiet time off the list, I was reading the same books, and I had bought the prettiest Study Bible—what was I doing wrong?
Proverbs 4:23 provided a breakthrough. Up until this point, I had only been taught to guard my heart against the evil of the world and bad relationships. (My granny used the verse to deter me from dating “bad boys.”) Never did I think I needed to guard my heart against the perfectionist tendencies created by worldly success. For so long, I had been relying on my own abilities to steer my life and heart instead of asking God for His Divine guidance. My journey of wholehearted living began right then and there. I asked God to search and know my heart, to test me, and know my anxious thoughts so that He would guide me on the road to eternal life (Psalm 139:23-24).
Today I realize perfectionism can become an idol, and accomplishing tasks will not bring about wholehearted living. I now know to guard my heart against the desire to be perfect and to thank God that I was fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). However, my journey to wholehearted living is not complete and perhaps never will be. Each day is a new opportunity to join God in the heart-work that needs to be done. Will you ask Him to help guard your heart today?