I must admit that, when I first heard “Perfect” by P!nk, I was a bit confused by the presence of the first verse, especially in light of the chorus and the rest of the song. It seemed a bit out of place for her to talk about her life and the things she’d been through then say, “Pretty, pretty please, don’t you ever, ever feel like you’re less than, less than perfect. Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel like you’re nothing, you are perfect to me.” It just didn’t make sense to me. So even though I've written about this song, I thought it deserved a second entry as I rethought on it.
Well, as I was sitting listening to the song last night, I had a revelation. Granted, I knew the words, but when I really thought the first verse, I finally found its place in the context of the song. She says, “made a wrong turn once or twice, dug my way out – blood and fire. Bad decisions – that’s alright. Welcome to my silly life. Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood… mistaken, always second guessing.” She talks about her struggles and basically how life has happened to her in some less than pleasant ways. And at the end of it, she says, “look, I'm still around.” Even though she’s been kicked around and abused and made bad moves herself, I imagine that she can stand in the mirror and sing the chorus to herself. Almost negating the mess of the first verse, she says that all the stuff, both done to her and done by her own choice, don’t make her any less perfect.
But then she takes it a step further in the second verse, and she chooses to motivate and challenge others who may have similar back stories, telling them to speak positively to/about themselves and deal with the demons of the past that call them anything less than perfect. Yes, we all have issues and things in our lives that keep us from being flawless, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t perfect – acceptable and worthy – just as we are. I know there have been times when I looked at my past and my shaping and my dysfunctions as a result, and I’ve thought that I could never change, grow, or even be seen as worth anything in my current state. But I’m thankful for people who have loved me in ways that make P!nk’s chorus ring true, empowering me to believe that I was perfect just as I was and encouraging me to push for healing to be even better.
So no matter if you’ve been abused, raped, neglected, abandoned, or teased, no matter if you made the choice to abuse drugs or alcohol, to hurt either people, to squander your years and your potential, to be in relationships that were less than beneficial to you because you were starved for love – none of that matters. You are still a beautiful, unique, worthwhile individual. Whether the fault is yours or someone else’s, from this moment forward you can shed the layers of filth and baggage, choosing to live as a loved, perfect person who deserves the best simply because God took the time to shape and create you. And remember that you’re still here for a reason.
“Pretty, pretty please, don’t you ever, ever feel like you’re less than, less than perfect. Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel like you’re nothing, you are perfect to me.”
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