Being Perfect

I know a young lady who suffers from anxiety and depression because she doesn't believe that she is "good enough."  When I asked her how good she must be, her reply was "Perfect."  I'm not sure where she got that idea but, it had become a heavy weight on her emotional life.  She showed me a long list of dos and don'ts which she was trying to follow.  Obviously, she was failing.  When I shared with her that the early Church fathers and mothers, i.e., Desert Fathers and Mothers, interpreted the goal of "perfect" as relating to the great commandment of Jesus, which is to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind and soul and your neighbor as yourself," (Matthew 37-39,) she was amazed.  We looked up that commandment.  "So, that's what being perfect means?" was her question of amazement.  I replied, "That's what I believe."  I think those do's and don't come from our Puritan heritage, which they over-did.  She was relieved.  She wrote the commandment in her journal; tore out the pages with all of her do' and don't lists and, then, she ran her do's and don't pages through the shredder in my office.  As we finished, she said so innocently, "Wow, that's a relief"  I think she has turned a major corner.