LEAPING INTO GRACE

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Yesterday, God showed me the sweetest revelation….so simple, yet so life-altering for me. Let me back up…

As women, whether young or old, we have emotions. And hello, we have hormones. (sorry brother and hubby if you’re reading this) And without going into too much detail on those subjects for the sake of my male readers, this combination of emotions and hormones can wreak havoc on our internal selves. I think it is almost funny how one week, I literally am ready to conquer EVERYTHING! This is the week I feel on my game as a mom, totally confident about writing a book, I feel passionate about dancing and get all gung-ho about it, I am fun and energetic with my kiddos, and typically I will organize the entire house. I feel great, happy, and excited! And then other weeks, I feel none of that! I usually have a strong desire to be more to myself, lay on my couch with my husband and watch Parenthood and eat goldfish….to totally unplug from commitments and to-do’s. I use to kind of fight this time when I feel less motivated and less energetic. I would fight it because I thought that I needed to keep being productive, energetic, and gung-ho. Well, God stepped in and showed me that it is OKAY to give myself grace to rest, take a nap, take a bubble bath, curl up in my comfy chair with my journal and just write, curl up on my couch with my hubby and watch a show…..YAY! And when I did that yesterday, instead of pushing through to the next task, I felt recharged. But I am going to have to remind myself to do this. It does not come natural. But oh I need this grace! And I can remember that in a week or two, I will be back to conquering the world!

So, with all that said, I just want to encourage you wherever you are, whatever age you are, particularly if you are a women, to know yourself well enough to know when it’s a good time to be productive and when it’s a good time to be kind to yourself….let yourself unplug, rest, and recharge.

Prayer: “Thank you, Lord, for the grace to rest and recharge. Thank you for the weeks I feel productive and the weeks I can do less and slow down. Help me rest in Your grace and lean on Your grace.”