(Previously Published on Mrs Words Blog)
On my morning walk yesterday, I was struck with the realisation that I live in a beautiful place. I mean, I always knew that but it struck me again in that moment. I have been living here for over 5 years now and it seems to get better every year. This time, I paused and took some photo’s and spent a moment looking around and just soaking in my surroundings and I fell in love with it all over again. I felt the sun on my skin, the wind on my face, I heard the trees rustling in the wind, the different birds calling and singing and I was filled with a deep contentment, a satisfaction that I was in this place, in this moment.
After, when I got back home, I took my phone out and looked through the photos again. I did a quick post on my social media, with the words “Seriously, how could anyone not love living here?!?” I looked at the time and was feeling a bit guilty for taking so long on my walk and thinking of all the things that I wanted and needed to get done today and then I got into the shower. It was there that I had a realisation (cos for me, the shower is always the place where I hear the gentle whisper of the Lord or get a revelation or other such significant light bulb moment – it’s my God closet).
This year, my word for the year is Grace. Grace! Decipher that any way you want. I, in my imperfectness and naivety thought that meant that God was giving me unreasonable grace for others and I was so happy about that! But, no! God has revealed to me in many different ways over the last 8 months of this year that He is reminding of His unreasonable, undeserved, unexplainable, unrivalled grace for ME! That I can live in His grace and accept His grace and that I don’t need to qualify myself, or make excuses for myself, or be anyone else, or anything else than simply me and His grace covers ALL!
You see, I am prone to being a people pleaser, a high-achiever and a perfectionist with incredibly high standards for myself – I’m very careful to not put that on anyone else, but I tend to expect it of me, all the time. And when I fail, or fall short, or even feel as though I have not done good enough, or let someone down, I can get pretty down on myself. Thing is, I know that I do this, but it’s almost impossible to stop. But, God!
God, in His perfect wisdom and His beautiful grace. He covers all. So, when I have days in this season, where I feel like I haven’t achieved anything, or just wasted a day reading or napping (and there seem to be a lot of those days), or just simply being in the moment, I realise that I don’t have to feel like a failure, or a nobody, or not enough. His grace has given me permission to just be. Without all the expectations on myself of all the things I have to achieve or boxes I have to tick, or things I need to get done, He has graced me with this season to just simply be me.
So, as I was standing there in the shower after my walk yesterday morning, I felt the gentle whisper of the Lord. He reminded me of the moment when I stopped that morning and took the time to soak in my surroundings. How I took a moment to breathe and feel and be in the now. He encouraged me to do that more often and revealed to me that that was what His grace was about. For me to take a moment and enjoy it, soak it in, fully live and breathe and feel. To experience the substance and reality that this moment, whatever it is, wherever I am counts. Not that I need to do anything or achieve anything or meet any expectations, but that simply me, being, in this moment is important and it matters.
I want to extend that grace to you. To remind you, dear friend, that you don’t need to be so hard on yourself. That you don’t need to earn His grace, perform incredible feats, or be perfect to receive it. No! You already have it! His grace is given, unmerited, undeserved, unexplainable, unreasonable, unrivalled. And you too can take the time to enjoy your life, to stop and soak in your surroundings, to breathe and feel and to be in this moment. To rest in His grace and find peace in this moment!
