What does grace mean to you?
To me it is something we usually offer others way more than ourselves.
We are so hard on ourselves and even sometimes others. Thinking that "they didn't handle that very well." or "Why do I suck so much at_____?" "I wish my body looked like_____." "That person is so annoying when they ______."
We are constant critics of ourselves and others. So much that it gets in the way of our blessings and blessing others. It gets in the way of us experiencing joy, and love.
How many times have we gotten all fired up because someone didn't see us and pulled out in front of us? Our first reaction to yell, scream and possibly flip them off.... What about when we are the ones to pull out in front of someone?? It's not like we are trying to get in a car accident on purpose, right? I like to think of a scenario like this as a perfect opportunity to offer grace to someone.
How about when you have been sick or feeling under the weather... or maybe you have just not been working out lately... you head out for a jog and find that all you can do is walk. You are weak because you haven't been active in a while and you are out of shape. Our brain wants to say, Dang it! I used to be able to jog 5 miles, now all I can do is walk! We start this terrible self talk and don't offer ourselves any grace... we block the simple joy of being outside and being active no matter what it looks like. We then hinder ourselves from the self improvement because now we are pissed, and embarrassed, and don't want to walk or jog at all now.
I, myself, am working towards coming back to grace. Reminding myself I am human. I am imperfect. That it's okay, and there is always room to offer grace.
It's time we put on the glasses of grace, and try to see ourselves and others through these lenses. Although it is important to have boundaries for how you are treated, to consider what others even have the capacity for, etc.... you also want to consider grace according to these boundaries and evaluations. There is a balance to this, and no one is perfect at it. With yourself, there is also a balance of Grit and Grace. I encourage you to journal about what this looks like for you, and in your relationships.
As always, we love to hear from you! Let us know what grace means to you, how you look at grace and offer it to yourself and others!
XO,
Mak