Welcome to my blog! This blog is about grace and what that looks like in different areas of life. It’s a space to share my process in learning how to extend grace to myself and others.
We live in a world full of polarizing opposites and unrealistic expectations. In the midst of it all, I want to live on the side of grace. This can be challenging at times because I’m a (recovering) perfectionist and I have high expectations for myself and others. It’s hard to release those expectations, but what I find when I do is freedom. I find love and joy that I might have missed if I’d held tight to how I thought things should be. I see value and dignity in people who are different than me. I want more of that.
I’m compelled to live a life of grace because of the grace I’ve received from God. Romans 5:8 says, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” God saw us in all our mess, in all our brokenness, in all our guilt – and he loved us. He didn’t reject us. He didn’t shame us. He didn’t require us to get our stuff together before he would accept us. Instead, he gave his life for us. He forgave us. He paid the consequences for our poor choices. He did the hard part. He calls us worthy of his love, his time, his life – even though we still mess up. Man, that’s deep love. If I can fully receive that grace from God, that should compel me to offer grace as well.
But grace isn’t easy, and it’s not something that we ever fully conquer. It’s a process. It’s getting it wrong and then trying again. It’s admitting my flaws but knowing they don’t define me. It’s learning to be ok with the journey.
Even just starting this blog has been a practice of grace. I’ve felt led to make this move for the past year, but it’s been a slow process. The achiever in me wanted to make sure that I would make a good first impression, that I would have the right words to say, that I would have enough time to give to this, that I could figure out all the background work before launching. There’s been anxiety in not knowing how this will be received or if I’ll be able to stay on top of it. But I realized – just today – that as I’m preparing to start a blog about grace, I need to have grace for myself. I don’t have to have it all figured out. I can be ok with learning as I go. I don’t have to try to impress every person who reads these words. Exhale. It’s going to be ok.
I’m excited to start this new journey, even with all the unknown. If you’re interested in joining me in this journey, stay tuned. You can subscribe by entering your email address so you don’t miss any posts.
Thanks for reading!