What you’re about to read was my Facebook status update a few days ago.
“Grace equips me to allow the people in my life to see me both at my best and at my worst.
I don’t want to pretend to be what I am not. I will not pretend to feel what I am not feeling, and I will not allow my feelings to determine the course of my life. I refuse to be the kind of person who seems to be living a perfect life. My life is far from perfect. I make mistakes. I struggle with lots of things common to all of us. I have challenges. I am not always patient. Sometimes, I make wrong choices, wrong decisions. There are times when I have felt engulfed by sadness and pain and hurt and disappointment. I get angry. I lose my temper. I cry. But I also laugh, I have victories and blessings, just like most of us. Sometimes, I am too proud, too stubborn, too headstrong. And sometimes, I am too nice, too kind and humble, too generous, too patient. My life is a well balanced story of grace. I live my life fully and joyfully during both my best and my worst. I am always on the move, never sitting still. Always something to do. Someone to reach out to. And I do it. Joyfully. Propelled by grace.
My journey is all mine. Uniquely mine.
If you focus on the best of me, then you do not know me. And if you get stuck with the worst of me, then you’ve also missed the point. I am everything that grace has allowed me to be. And everyday, I strive with the help of my faith to be better than the person that I was yesterday.
I hold myself to very high standards, because God holds me to high standards, but I have also received the grace to understand that it’s ok to fall, as long as I get up and go on because His grace is always sufficient.
And even in the midst of the worst of me, love and grace shines through.
And to you reading this, stop being disappointed when you see the mistakes and failures of the people in your lives. Don’t judge others according to your own standards. Let everyone focus on their own unique journey while you focus on yours.
Let Grace work for you”.
Written on the spur of the moment, this article is not going viral anytime soon, nevertheless it has brought me such joy, positive response and even another article by my dear friend and published author Heather Knight. Also a good number of private messages in my inbox confirms what I already know; people reach out when they feel that they can identify with you.
Let’s keep it real and honest every step of the way. Both your strenghts and your weaknesses add up to the beauty of who you are.
And never doubt that grace really does make all the difference in a man’s life!
