Grace Finds You Everyday
Lately, I've been feeling spread thin. It's hard to tend to all of the things when you wear so many hats. Between parenting, work, nourishing friendships, keeping up with family, self-care, dating, etc some things or people end up taking a back seat. My circle feels small but yet so big. I have an amazing tribe of women spread throughout the U.S. For those that are not physically near, it makes it hard to keep in touch. There are just not enough hours in a day!
I'm the mom that answers text messages in her head intending to send the message after a task. Only to realize three days later when my head hits the pillow that I never sent the message. Anxiety kicks in and I ask myself do I send the message anyway or has too many days gone by? At times intense feelings of guilt kick in. See, my girls have helped me through so much. When I feel like I've dropped the ball I worry that the relationship has suffered, in some cases ended.
Last night, I found some time to go through some missed messages from the week and noticed that a dear friend messaged me. She was passing along some entrepreneur resources. Touched that she is still thinking of me after so many efforts on her part to reach out, I thanked her. I also apologized for my absence. She messaged back and when I read it I thanked God for a friendship as beautiful as ours. Her response touched me so deeply tears rolled down my face.
"Oh girl, I don't blame you! You carry so much. I just want you to know I am always here, no matter how much time goes between our talks. We grown folk now lol. Our friendship was planted in good soil. I don't need constant communication to confirm that. You are my soul sister."
I was so moved by her ability to display such grace towards me at that moment. Something I definitely did not feel worthy of. God used that moment to remind me of his own grace. Grace is the reason for every good thing that He has given me. We are NOT deserving of any of the things he gives us. But because of who he is he chooses to give, freely, time after time.
Grace is the reason that I can stop feeling inadequate and sit here today telling you it's okay that we aren't perfect. I'm not perfect nor will I ever be. His grace is greater than any of our shortcomings, our weaknesses, sin, and even our failures. I am blessed to have a friend who can love me as the Father does. Her response allowed me to feel wrapped so tightly in His love. So much so I was overwhelmed and cried.
Sometimes, we are the ones that need to give ourselves grace. We often feel the weight of the world on our shoulders. Daily tasks like dishes, laundry, and cleaning can pile on leaving us overwhelmed. The to-do list feels like it keeps growing instead and the day-to-day routine can feel repetitive and daunting. Great, another day of shortcomings and failures.
Give yourself grace when you forget to get back to that friend.
Give yourself grace when you grow impatient with your children.
Give yourself grace when you lose it on your significant other
Give yourself grace when you have fallen short before God.
Much like my dear friend God has already extended the grace. He knows what all you carry on a day-to-day basis. He's also letting you know that His love for you has not changed. Nothing you do can change the relationship between you and Him. No sin can keep Him from loving you. No amount of time away from his presence can keep him from pursuing you!
God's grace is sufficient for every moment of every day.