Grace, not Perfection
I was walking around the shops downtown trying to figure out the perfect gift to get my mother before I took off to make the perfect batch of cookies for this family Christmas in October. Then I had to do laundry at lightning speed so I could pack the perfect bag full of the perfect outfits for any possible event that might occur while hanging out at my Grandma's with my family. Oh, and I had to leave my house in the perfect condition--spotless to the point of OCD so that I wouldn't feel stressed when I got home Sunday night. So I'm walking through Lot 2029, looking at jewelry, scarves, coffee cups with fun sayings on them, and I stop in my tracks. On the table is this cute little light pink journal that says "I will hold myself to a standard of grace, not perfection," in gold letters. It was stunning. I just HAD to have it! I flipped it over and it was a billion dollars so I didn't get it. But I snapped this picture and wrote it on a sticky note and hung it on my mirror because holy ba-geezes, God was speaking to me in that moment! 
For those of you like me who need to know everything, I ended up getting my mom a necklace with a little tree pendant and she loves it. And the cookie baking was a disaster because my roommates bake as much as I do and so I ran out of flour, butter, and baking powder but they were good anyway. Oh, and I didn't get laundry done and surprise--no one cared what I was wearing because we stayed in out pajamas until noon and then went outside and played in the yard.
Of course, none of this stopped me from shooting for perfect but it did help me to land a little lighter on "okay" instead of crashing into "perfect."
Some of you are thinking, aren't we talking about Crazy Spirituality and demons and healings and stuff? Yes, we are. And it's an awesome topic and it's going to be an awesome Wednesday night. But I feel like it's Monday and the weather is changing and there is so much to coordinated as we creep into the holiday season, and school and work are a lot and the laundry still isn't done and everyone and their dog is born in October so all of the cards need to be sent and it's just plain hard not to care about how great everyone else's lives seem to be when you are falling apart over ANOTHER cup of coffee.
So I am telling you today that Grace is a WAY better goal than Perfect. Grace is light in the darkness, and God making your heart warm when you woke up this morning and looked at the sunshine, and feeling like yourself and hugs from your family members. It's forgiveness and righteousness and the Glory of God and the Holy Spirit dancing through you as that song comes on the radio.
Perfection is hard and sharp and overwhelming. So I'm shooting for Grace today. What about you?
Peace and Grace to you,
Jada
For those of you like me who need to know everything, I ended up getting my mom a necklace with a little tree pendant and she loves it. And the cookie baking was a disaster because my roommates bake as much as I do and so I ran out of flour, butter, and baking powder but they were good anyway. Oh, and I didn't get laundry done and surprise--no one cared what I was wearing because we stayed in out pajamas until noon and then went outside and played in the yard.
Of course, none of this stopped me from shooting for perfect but it did help me to land a little lighter on "okay" instead of crashing into "perfect."
Some of you are thinking, aren't we talking about Crazy Spirituality and demons and healings and stuff? Yes, we are. And it's an awesome topic and it's going to be an awesome Wednesday night. But I feel like it's Monday and the weather is changing and there is so much to coordinated as we creep into the holiday season, and school and work are a lot and the laundry still isn't done and everyone and their dog is born in October so all of the cards need to be sent and it's just plain hard not to care about how great everyone else's lives seem to be when you are falling apart over ANOTHER cup of coffee.
So I am telling you today that Grace is a WAY better goal than Perfect. Grace is light in the darkness, and God making your heart warm when you woke up this morning and looked at the sunshine, and feeling like yourself and hugs from your family members. It's forgiveness and righteousness and the Glory of God and the Holy Spirit dancing through you as that song comes on the radio.
Perfection is hard and sharp and overwhelming. So I'm shooting for Grace today. What about you?
Peace and Grace to you,
Jada
Comments
Post a Comment