Grace to be me
I admire well-groomed travelers with matching luggage, stylish clothing, and a serene sense of calmness and coordination as they float through the airport. I’m in awe of them, really. Because no matter how hard I try, I always have stuff falling out of my bag, leaving a trail behind me, my jacket ends up tied around my waist dragging the ground, my hair and clothes are a disheveled mess, and I trip on at least one escalator.
After many years of travel, I finally decided to just give myself grace to be this way…to be me. And what a relief it was to stop comparing myself to others and to just be in the moment, focused on what I’m doing and where I’m going.
Then I wondered, hey, what would it look like if I extended a little of this grace to other areas of my life? What if I stopped pressuring myself to look, speak, write, and sing a certain way? What if I stopped pressuring myself to produce and achieve in a certain way?
I wouldn’t be sharing this with you right now if I hadn’t made the decision to give myself the grace to be the current, messy, real me instead of some idealized version of me that lives in my head. And I definitely wouldn’t be sharing my Herald ministry in the ways I currently am, because I would still be in the shadows, picking myself apart, instead of stepping out and just going for it.
The gift of grace can go a long way, friends. Try gifting a little to yourself.
Reflection Questions:
God crafted us so carefully; down to the smallest detail, even, and yet we still don’t feel like we’re adequate sometimes. What is one way you can give yourself a little grace to be yourself and carry out your giftings in a way that is uniquely you?
Do you connect with my line that says, “…what a relief it was to stop comparing myself to others and to just be in the moment, focused on what I’m doing and where I’m going.” If so, what is one area where you feel the Lord prompting you to stop comparing yourself?
Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
