Give Yourself Grace
- Brian Walsh
- Dec 2, 2022
- 3 min read
You ever do something and realize you just messed it all up, broke something, forgot to do something and you beat yourself up for it. Yup, we all have... It's ok.
It’s Friday and I missed the chance to write last Wednesday and now this Wednesday. I made a commitment to you that read and to myself and I missed it. To be honest last week I was pretty mad at myself for not getting around to it. My friend made the point that it is really not that important, not that many read it and it was the day before Thanksgiving. I thought he is right, but I made a commitment. Then this Wed. came around and I really tried to set some time apart to do it, but just could not. The demands of the three jobs I’m trying to do just caught up to me, which led to this post. All about GRACE.
As a Christian I have heard and preached many messages built upon this very word. The dictionary has multiple meanings for it, but nothing that I felt really does the word justice. When I hear the word grace in this context it is pretty simply forgiving yourself and accepting your own failures, without judgment or consequences. The same way God forgives us on a regular basis for all our failures, the way he sent his Son to die on the cross for our sins. Grace is like an acceptance of us for our own faults.
Now to be fully transparent and honest I’ve been having a rough week, if you cannot tell. Wonderful Thanksgiving that just kicked off the work week into high gear. I’m essentially doing 3 jobs at the moment (Teaching FPU/Coaching, Interim Pastor, and IT Director) and was feeling the stress as Wednesday came around. As I kept trying to think of things to write I kept getting overwhelmed with the work that was piling in and it was not helping. So I took a step back, took a breath and just said forget it. I know it has been 2 weeks in a row, but there are other priorities.
It was then that I realized I needed to give myself a little grace. I teach/coach this with people all the time. As you are starting new habits or new activities, it is ok sometimes to give yourself a little grace. We are not perfect and things are going to come up. That is ok, no matter what you still got this and can still get it done, just give yourself a little time to breathe, forgive yourself and get back after it.
So what are the areas you see where you need to give yourself that grace? What is piling up on your plate and causing you to stress and get frustrated?
From a budget perspective I teach people it takes about 3 months to get into a routine, for some a little bit longer. It’s ok, give yourself grace. I can guarantee the first month is going to be tough. This is a new muscle that you are trying to build. Each month you will learn a little bit more and get better and better at it.
In other areas, as long as you are making the right priority choices you are in the sweet spot. Similar to budgeting your money you have to budget your time. Are you putting your time into the right things? It is important to put your time into what is give you the most value, and that is not about money at all, that is about you and what is important to you.
A couple podcasts I was blessed by this week.
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