Self-Compassion

Your Best Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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My Daily Musings-August 16th, 2026

“Remember that you’re doing your best and your best doesn’t have to be perfect.”

This quote really resonated with me for a few reasons. I am pretty hard on myself, especially when it comes to my chronic health issues. I sometimes beat myself up inside because my body doesn’t let me do the things I want to do. Then I get discouraged. I have been working on being more kind to myself and not letting those symptoms or discouraging thoughts control my life. But it’s still hard some days.

I guess I still expect myself to be perfect sometimes, and that’s just not realistic. I need to remind myself that I am human and I make mistakes. I also need to remind myself how loved I am by others, especially by my Heavenly Father. He never expects us to be perfect in this life because He knows we won’t be. So we shouldn’t expect perfection in ourselves or in other people. We just need to give ourselves and others more grace to learn and grow instead of expecting perfection.

Do you ever find yourself expecting perfection from yourself, even when you know that perfection isn’t realistic? What helps you show yourself grace when you feel like you’re not doing enough?

Seeing Others Through Heavenly Eyes

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

My Daily Musings-July 29th, 2026

I love this quote that I found on Facebook recently. It said, “Don’t judge people by who they were yesterday. If someone is genuinely working to grow, heal and become better, give them the space to be that person. Growth deserves recognition, not a lifetime sentence for past mistakes.”

I am a person who is quick to judge others and to hold a grudge. That is something I have been working on changing about myself. Even with the people I’m closest to, it’s hard not to instantly judge them and criticize them. But I don’t know the whole picture that is inside of them. So I shouldn’t judge what I see on the outside.

I am also very quick to get frustrated with myself when I don’t measure up with the person I imagined I could be. I just need to look at myself and others through heavenly eyes and not be quick to judge.

Have you ever struggled with judging someone based on their past instead of seeing who they are becoming? How can we learn to give ourselves and others more grace as we work to grow?

The Voice Beyond the Mirror

/ Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Backstory:
When the prophet Samuel was sent to anoint a new king of Israel, he naturally assumed that the strongest, tallest, and most impressive-looking son of Jesse would be God's choice. But the Lord taught Samuel an important lesson: "for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

As humans, we often do the same thing. We judge others—and ourselves—by outward appearances, mistakes, weaknesses, and imperfections. We stand before the mirror and see all the things we wish we could change. But our Heavenly Father sees much more than our reflection. He sees our desires, our faith, our efforts, our struggles, and our divine potential. He knows us perfectly and loves us perfectly.

The Voice Beyond the Mirror

I look in the mirror and see each and every flaw,
And I tell myself that I don’t measure up and so I withdraw.
My Heavenly Father looks at me and He sees my heart,
And He loves me so much that to Him, I am a work of art.

I see my imperfections and the mistakes I have made,
And I tell myself that I am below the grade.
My Heavenly Father doesn’t measure me by my flaws,
For He sees my efforts every day and gives me applause.

I call myself foolish when I fail again and again,
And I’m way more critical of myself than of my fellowmen.
My Loving Father looks at me and sees my divine potential,
He sees past my flaws and knows that I can be successful.

I see how far I have left to go
Because all of my weaknesses I know.
My Father sees the desires of my heart
And He knows that I’m trying to do my part.

When my Heavenly Father looks at me in the mirror,
He sees my divine nature and potential as the picture.
He sees past my flaws and looks at my desires on the inside,
And because He loves me perfectly, He will always be by my side.

The Takeaway: The next time you find yourself focusing on your flaws, remember that your Heavenly Father sees far beyond what is reflected in the mirror. He sees your heart, your goodness, your sincere efforts, and the person you are becoming through Jesus Christ. His view of you is infinitely more complete—and far more loving—than your own. 

Watch my YouTube short on this topic here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/V1atk7itt-I