I stink at giving myself grace. The kind of grace I try so hard to give to others. The kind of grace that I want everyone to give themselves. The kind of grace Christ offers me every day. THAT kind of grace I am no good at.
I am doing the Whole 30 diet. Let’s just say this: I hate every minute of it. Because cravings make me feel weak. And useless. And worthless. And just plain bleh.
But that is because I hold myself to a standard that doesn’t make any sense to anybody. A standard that doesn’t even make any dang sense to me.
A standard that makes it impossible for Jesus’ grace to cover all of me.
I’m a perfectionist to a T, who shames herself when she falls short in any way possible. Say something with a little too much sass? Eh, that person doesn’t like you now. Break a rule (like no gluten or sugar or dairy for 30 days)? Shoot girl, you better sit your butt down in the corner and think about what you just did.
Those are the thoughts that run through my head- daily. And it’s exhausting. It is exhausting to throw myself under the bus every time I make a “mistake.” It is straining to always be the one to take the blame. It is tiring to always tell myself that I am not a real teacher or that I am not smart enough to say I have a bachelor’s degree, or even that my words and actions don’t matter.
But Jesus didn’t come to just let me keep thinking those lies. Jesus didn’t die and beat the grave to just let me feed myself empty words until they become my truth. Jesus didn’t shed His blood to make me white as snow just to watch me sink under my own thoughts and worries.
So what does this have to do with you? What does this mean for you?
It means you should give yourself some more grace. It means that I should give myself more grace. Because we were not created to be perfect and flawless in everything we do or say- Jesus came to take that burden from us.
We were and ARE created to be who our Heavenly Father UNIQUELY created us to be.
Don’t even get me started on the social construction of beauty and perfection and the “American Dream”- it drives me up a wall crazy. And Satan knows it drives me crazy. And he knows the things that drive you crazy too. So he preys on your “flaws” and every moment you “fall short.” He throws little lies your way, like “oh look at that girl, you wish you could look like her” or “your mini-van isn’t cool enough for California life” (that’s a real thing I struggle with guys, call me crazy but its true).
Satan takes all the good things God gave us (which is every little detail of ourselves by the way) and twists it just enough to make us cringe when we look in the mirror. He twists the truth just enough to make it easy to believe that we are just a hair short of the perfect man or woman God has created us to be.
And each time we believe those lies takes us one more step away from the grace Jesus so lavishly throws on us every morning.
So take those little lies of you’re not good enough or smart enough or you stink at following rules why aren’t you better kind of lies, and throw them to the trash, every time.
Give yourself some grace when you miss the turn or say something extremely quirky or weird to the guy you’re crushin’ on. Give yourself some grace when your to-do list is longer than the hours you have in the day. Give yourself some grace and take a stinkin’ nap. Rest in the fact that God doesn’t look at your check list of accomplishments but only cares about how deeply you love others around you.
Give yourself grace and rest. The world needs you at 100%. Don’t push too hard. – Hannah Brencher
The world needs you at 100%. God created you to live in your 100%.
So give yourself some grace and punch fear in the face.
And kill it this Monday.
See ya soon,
Stephanie Lynn
gwenn | lynn 