The Heart of Perfection: How the Saints Taught Me toTrade My Dream of Perfect for God’s is an amazing book. Colleen’s prose have a literary quality often
missing from other Christian nonfiction books I’ve read and reviewed over the
years. I can identify very well with her
sentiments as a recovering perfectionist.
I’m sure the only way she has managed to balance a successful career
with being a homeschooling mother of four has been through the grace of God.
This look into the lives of certain saints comes
through the lens of a working mother, recovering perfectionist, and an honest
sinner who’s sharing the wisdom she’s gleaned through living and
struggling. I love how she weaves
Scripture and the biographies of several key saints into this in-depth study of
why and how we should “trade [our] own dreams of perfect for God’s.”
Colleen treats the saints as imperfect friends and
mentors rather than holding them up as flawless models of humanity. She shows how they needed God’s grace in
order to seek and do His will every bit as much as we need it.
Though very well-researched, this book has a
welcoming vibe rather than a stilted academic feel. Colleen goes deep into the lives of saints,
sinks her heart into Scripture, and willingly examines her own life in light of
perfectionist tendencies and human failings.
She has an acute awareness of how much our attitudes
towards God, ourselves, and others have a profound effect on our
relationships. If we’re spending most of
our mental energy critiquing our every fault and flaw, then were likely to pass
that dissatisfaction on to others. If we
accept God’s grace as a necessity, then it’s easier to deal in a gentler way
with our loved ones, friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc.
Colleen illustrates how growing spiritually requires
heaping helpings of grace. We can’t make
progress in the faith life without first acknowledging our desperate need for
God’s love and mercy. Once we accept
those two freely given gifts, we have the foundation we need to grow closer to
Him, and, thereby, help others do the same.
“There’s something about God’s love that simply can’t breathe unless we
share it with others. And the more we
share it the more His joy floods our hearts.” (p. 76)
One of the chapter titles really caught my
attention: Stalking Joy. This concept of
actively seeking joy appeals to me a great deal since I easily forget how much
God wants us to be joyful. We are
much more attractive as Christians when “the joy of the Lord is [our] strength”
(Nehemiah 8:10). Colleen writes that “We
need to pursue and protect joy, to recognize it as a source of supernatural
strength without which we can’t hope to love others or God.” (p. 74).
We need the communion of saints and the people
around us in order to grow. “Admitting
you need the companionship of other Christians striving for holiness isn’t
elitism; it’s a mark of humility and spiritual maturity.” (p. 61)
This book brings up the topic of holiness and
through comparisons and stories reminds us that we are called to be
saints. It made me think of a beautiful
song by a music missionary I love named Danielle Rose. “The Saint That Is Just Me” is written about how
aspirations to be holy need to be in line with our own call and sanctification,
which won’t look exactly like anyone else’s.
I highly recommend The Heart of Perfection for any
Christian who struggles with perfectionism.
Colleen Carroll Campbell’s other book My Sisters the Saints is one I
read, reviewed, and loved as well. Click
here to read that review.
