A perfectionist meets houseflies
Review of "In Praise of Houseflies" by Elise Tegegne.
In Praise of Houseflies – Meditations on the Gifts of Everyday Quandaries
Elise Tegegne
Calla Press, 2025.
Ever been grateful for houseflies? Me neither! Living on a farm most of my life, I know houseflies and was never once glad to see them. So, the title of Elise Tegegne’s book intrigued me – In Praise of Houseflies. I hoped it wasn’t some shallow assortment of Pollyanna musings. To my delight, it was anything but.
This slim, lyrical volume takes a brutally honest look at mundane, everyday vexations and challenges. Elise Tegegne employs exquisitely poignant imagery and succeeds beautifully in her self-assigned mandate: “Rather than paint over pain with sunny hues, I’ve tried to look it full in the face. And in looking (closely, carefully), I’ve found glimmers of grace there.”
Tough questions
Essays are organized around Tegegne’s life – years as a missionary teaching French in Ethiopia; the pandemic; early marriage and motherhood. Open and vulnerable, she examines heart-wrenching loneliness, pain, boredom, cleaning and sleep deprivation. Her faith-filled worldview emerges and implicitly attests to God’s ability to work all things for good.
We meet Tegegne as a summa cum laude graduate, an introvert, a perfectionist who excels at pretty much everything – academics, arts, athletics. She begins her career as a missionary teacher and quickly finds students unimpressed with her accomplishments and accolades. Clever and intelligent, they make light work of her pride. She writes, “I was not used to failing with such gusto.”
The experience prompts tough, soul-searching questions. “Why is it so hard to accept my own mediocrity? Why must I insist on being glorified, a goddess in a universe of my own making? Even the God who made the universe gave up all his throne-room glory.” She begins exploring the difference between humility and humiliation. “And how sweet the balm to my perfectionism-chapped soul, when at last I can receive God’s grace, give grace to myself.”
A book to linger over
I was hungry to devour each essay quickly, but recognized it would be a shame not to linger over every page. This is a rare book I will likely read again.
I’d still rather swat flies than ponder their spiritual significance. But I take her point that God often sends “daily annoyances” to interrupt tidy agendas. It’s to our benefit – whether or not we recognize that fact.
“My hours are not my own,” she writes. I should embroider that on a pillowcase.
Tegegne graciously invites us “to pause, take a deep breath, and attune your spirit to God as you open these pages.” It is an invitation well worth accepting.
