Perfect, Except....?

The hubby and I just returned from a wonderful 40th anniversary celebration with our family. We rented a large house in the Disney parks area of Florida, and together with our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren, we enjoyed a packed week of fun together.

Of course, upon returning home, parents and others have asked us how our trip went. As it truly was a magical, memory-making time spent exploring the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios, my first inclination has been to say "Perfect!"

And it was, nearly, except for the heat and humidity. Honestly, with temperatures approaching 105 degrees some of the days and high humidity along with the heat, at times we were quite challenged. It wouldn't be a lie to admit some of us suffered dealing with the summer Florida climate.

As I think of it, so many things in life are Perfect, Except for (you fill in the blank here of what marred the perfection).

"The birth went perfectly, except that the father missed it by four minutes."

"The Thanksgiving meal was perfect, until Uncle Eddie shot off his mouth as usual."

"My work day went along perfectly smoothly, until my co-worker got onto his political rant platform again."

"My granddaughter's ballet recital went perfectly, except when an older ballerina had a meltdown in the common dressing area."

"My finances were well under control, until I had that unexpected root canal."

Perfect, except....

So many times life seems to be rolling along just fine, until that feeling of yuck shows up in some form. It may be just a sense, but we cannot deny it's there.

Something is just off. All is not perfect.

We should not be surprised nor confused about this feeling of "ick." In the Bible, the author of Hebrews compares us to strangers and exiles on this earth (Hebrews 11:13). Later, Peter also speaks as if we are sojourners, exiles (1 Peter 2:11).

We aren't meant to be totally satisfied or fully comfortable here on earth; we are just briefly passing through on the way to our next, eternal address. However, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I know my heavenly home will be a place of absolute, pure perfection. There will be no "excepts."

For today, though, I'll treasure the family memories we made in Disney, and continue praying that all my family members will some day spend eternity at the same address with me. And I will trust that my Lord wants them there even more than I do.

Now that's a perfect love.