Why is it so hard to give ourselves grace? It is so natural for us to sit with someone else who is feeling deep things, and comfort them, speak words soft and kind. But when we are hurting, our reaction to our pain is far from that. Our natural response to our pain is so often criticism, goading, shaming.
How can we begin to understand why it is so hard to believe it is okay to be us, to be human, to not be perfect? Can we learn to be as full of grace ourselves as we are to others?
Welcome to The Grace Process. My heart here is to create space for a discussion of all the things that grace awareness or lack of grace brings. This space is about God’s grace and learning what that says about who you are. It is about kindness, always present love and acceptance of you, regardless of your brokenness. But this space is also about grace as it greets us in the day-to-day of being a woman who believes God’s promises but who lives in this crazy, broken world. This world that tells us to be-more-do-more, but don’t you dare show up too loud.
It is my prayer that the topics of grace, purpose, passion, boundaries, resilience, and relationships are addressed authentically here, with room for both science and faith. That doesn’t mean you have to agree or find these thoughts relevant. They are thoughts, mixed with facts about living your best life. You will find tools suggestions to help change anything that you feel God has put before you to address or grow toward.
My goal is that space is judgment-free. That the inner critic in you and in me will find herself enfolded in loving arms and accepted as part of who we are. That she will find herself being invited to the table instead of being left out front to guard the doors so that nothing enters that be out of our comfort zone. We want her to rest, to feel loved, and safe. And that is where grace comes in.
Let’s learn to love ourselves, learn that we are more than enough, even as we make mistakes, say silly things, and laugh. Let’s learn grace to be open to the events of our lives. We have permission to be authentically us without second-guessing, overthinking, judging, or criticizing ourselves about how we show up for this one big beautiful journey.
Do you remember Mary and Martha, Jesus’ friends? We have heard countless stories about how we don’t want to be Martha, but my sweet friend, we have to understand that Martha was the one who invited Jesus into her home. She was the one who made a place for him and tended his needs…
Did she overdo the hospitality thing to the point she resented her sister? Yes. That is what the grace process is about. Starting with recognizing that we are doing the best we can with what we know now. We can learn to be aware of the present moment, to respond to what is our best yes at that time. We can let go of expectations, of the should’s, ought’s, and the pressure to allow ourselves intentional choices as we become aware of them. We can love being Martha, but knowing when it is time to sit and be Mary, letting the best thing be the thing we tend to regardless of the expectations of others and ourselves to push on doing the ‘right’ thing.
My prayer is that this will be a space where you can think about living life intentionally. A place where we can tap into your awareness of your shared human experience and growing your knowledge of who you are rather than what you do.
Brennan Manning using the word tenderness interchangeably with grace. I love that! This world needs more tenderness, and I believe that that includes how we talk to, show up for, and relate to ourselves.
This week let us live with tenderness toward ourselves as we navigate these crazy, uncertain, days.
If you want to know more about engaging in the process, let’s have a call. Contact me for a free consultation about how I can support you! You deserve it.
With love and grace,
Charlotte
