I've certainly needed a bit of grace and forgiveness for myself here lately. I am having a difficult time transitioning to a two child household and remembering that getting certain tasks done around the house is simply not the same as it was just a month ago.
I feel guilty when I let the grass get "too long" or the dishes sit unattended longer than usual or when laundry baskets sit unfolded. I will allow myself to feel like a man who is not taking care of what he has been given.
What I have to recognize is that what's important, God has provided. We have plenty of food, good shelter and our expenses are in order. AND my children are played with, read to and they know we love them. Some days, that’s the best we can manage haha.
Grace to self, lately, I think. Self talk is notoriously bad all the time, but i've been slowly working on gently climbing out of my brain. A lot of times when I have goals it's usually frenetic "you gotta do this! be different!" I'm trying to turn myself into a jetski when I'm a sailboat. Gotta enjoy the journey and trust that i'll get there eventually.
This is a good reminder to me that I should not judge other people's motives or try to speculate about what they are thinking. Here in the southern USA, I have learned that just because people speak sweetly to you doesn't mean they like you.:) So I've found myself becoming suspicious and careful. It's good to cultivate a "holy indifference" to these things...God knows what they're really thinking. I don't need to know, and I am happier if I don't speculate.
I imagine that's the stereotypical "bless your heart" that we northerners hear so much about, haha! I like your perspective, though: only God truly knows their hearts, it's not up to us. That release is SO important.
We set up the most darling little "bug hotel" in our garden last year. No one took up residence until this spring--paper wasps. It's right next to our picnic table, but we decided to treat them like neighbors instead of worry. Everyone else who comes to our house worries, haha, but we don't. I've been trying to teach my children that every creature has an important job to do. They deserve to be here, simply because they were created by the same Creator that created us. Wasps are pollinators and hunters; treat them with respect and they will do their job.
Why do I have an easier time thinking like that about insects than I do about people? I don't know, but I do. It's a long and tangled story, but the gist of it is that my siblings and I experienced some...upheaval, you might say, in our relationships at the beginning of the year. It feels like an impossible mess sometimes, but I keep coming back to this idea (your post was another needed reminder) of grace. How to extend it when it feels like I should instead be receiving it. It feels like I'd be making myself dangerously vulnerable, with no promise of reciprocation, to just fill my heart with grace and move on. Something I'm working up to. Thank you for your words, they give me more courage to try!
I've certainly needed a bit of grace and forgiveness for myself here lately. I am having a difficult time transitioning to a two child household and remembering that getting certain tasks done around the house is simply not the same as it was just a month ago.
I feel guilty when I let the grass get "too long" or the dishes sit unattended longer than usual or when laundry baskets sit unfolded. I will allow myself to feel like a man who is not taking care of what he has been given.
What I have to recognize is that what's important, God has provided. We have plenty of food, good shelter and our expenses are in order. AND my children are played with, read to and they know we love them. Some days, that’s the best we can manage haha.
Oof, the guilt over things getting untidy and overgrown is real. I love the way you turn the perspective around, though, back to gratitude.
Grace to self, lately, I think. Self talk is notoriously bad all the time, but i've been slowly working on gently climbing out of my brain. A lot of times when I have goals it's usually frenetic "you gotta do this! be different!" I'm trying to turn myself into a jetski when I'm a sailboat. Gotta enjoy the journey and trust that i'll get there eventually.
Well said.
This is a good reminder to me that I should not judge other people's motives or try to speculate about what they are thinking. Here in the southern USA, I have learned that just because people speak sweetly to you doesn't mean they like you.:) So I've found myself becoming suspicious and careful. It's good to cultivate a "holy indifference" to these things...God knows what they're really thinking. I don't need to know, and I am happier if I don't speculate.
I imagine that's the stereotypical "bless your heart" that we northerners hear so much about, haha! I like your perspective, though: only God truly knows their hearts, it's not up to us. That release is SO important.
Yes, that's exactly it. It took me a while to catch on; then I became a bit paranoid.:)
We set up the most darling little "bug hotel" in our garden last year. No one took up residence until this spring--paper wasps. It's right next to our picnic table, but we decided to treat them like neighbors instead of worry. Everyone else who comes to our house worries, haha, but we don't. I've been trying to teach my children that every creature has an important job to do. They deserve to be here, simply because they were created by the same Creator that created us. Wasps are pollinators and hunters; treat them with respect and they will do their job.
Why do I have an easier time thinking like that about insects than I do about people? I don't know, but I do. It's a long and tangled story, but the gist of it is that my siblings and I experienced some...upheaval, you might say, in our relationships at the beginning of the year. It feels like an impossible mess sometimes, but I keep coming back to this idea (your post was another needed reminder) of grace. How to extend it when it feels like I should instead be receiving it. It feels like I'd be making myself dangerously vulnerable, with no promise of reciprocation, to just fill my heart with grace and move on. Something I'm working up to. Thank you for your words, they give me more courage to try!
Grace to myself and grace for others. All of us, no matter who we are, are simply trying to do the best we can within our limited sphere of knowledge.
“He is my refuge” and I hope He can be a refuge for others as well 🌿
Such a worthy goal, to be a refuge. Love that.
Learning that to forgive means - actually - to change is humbling. Much grace is needed.
Oof. This hit me. Very true.
I so needed to read this today. ✨🪄
I'm so glad it resonated, Claire! 🌿
🙏✨
A difficult path to walk, and I admire you so much for walking it!