Grace...

“What I need as a mother is grace. God’s grace, that allows me to fail and try again, that allows me to ask for help when I don’t have the wisdom or patience I need, that reminds me we’re not alone in this, and that God loves my daughter even more than I do. And grace from other mothers. I need grace and truth-telling and camaraderie from other moms. I need us to tell the truth about how hard it is, and I need us to help each other, instead of hiding behind the pretense and pressure of perfection.

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Let’s think about grace—grace from a God who loves us and values us and picks us up every time we fall, with just exactly the same love and tenderness you feel when you pick up your kids after they have fallen. And the grace we show one another when we drop the comparisons and the catalog images and really walk with one another, on the good days and the bad days. Let’s think about honesty and helping and telling our stories. Let’s give each other a break and a little help and some soft places to land.

If you’re a mom, what you do is nurture and protect and give grace. You do it all the time, and it’s very important, because it reminds us, in daily, tangible ways how God nurtures and protects and gives grace. And maybe today the one who really needs that nurturing and protection and grace is you.”

(S. Niequist)

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I saw this on another blog and it really spoke to me....

I want to be a grace giver. I want to be the kind of woman and mom that shows my girls what it means to truly have God's grace play out in my life. I have been in need of grace so many times in my life and I want to be the person that gives it back freely in return.

I've failed. I WILL fail again. Yet,I want to pick myself up and try again each time. I have had times in my life where I was not shown grace, and I remember how that feels. I don't want to do that to others. Especially other moms who are struggling each day too.

I also want my children to show me grace as we navigate through life. I will not always be the perfect wife, the perfect mom, the perfect daughter, or the perfect friend. But Christ shows me grace on a daily basis (sometimes minute by minute) and I not only want that from others, I want to be an example of that to others.

So...I'm working on grace....how about you?