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Chapter 1: Worst Beam Ever – Pages 3-9

I’m from West Virginia; the home of pepperoni rolls, the first celebration of Mother’s Day, and Mary Lou Retton.  You remember her, right?  The tiny Olympian that rocked the 1984 gymnastics competition.

Just four years after her triumphs, my little five year old self was bound and determined to become the next little Olympian to come out of the Mountaineer state.  The problem is, this little West Virginian does not have the flexibility or balance to pull it off.

No matter how much I stretched (and cried) and practiced (and cried), I could not master a single cartwheel or trip across the balance beam without falling to the mat below.

And now twenty plus years later, I still can’t do a cartwheel and the balance beams that I attempt to cross are just as impassable.  The problem is, the mat is much further below.

Balance, as Jen Hatmaker says in one of my favorite quotes from For the Love…

“It’s like a unicorn; we’ve heard about it, everyone talks about it and makes airbrushed T-shirts celebrating it, it seems super rad, but we haven’t actually seen one.  I’m beginning to think it isn’t a thing.” {For the Love}

I’m beginning to think she’s right.

Who do you know that has the capability to juggle all of the responsibilities that life holds?  Balancing career, relationships, family, friends, household chores, appointments, meetings, community groups, church and quiet time with God?  Whew!  It’s no wonder we cannot sleep at night, being that our lives are so ingrained with the thought that we must.not.quit…ever.

Today I want to let you in on a little secret that will help you to be more accomplished and rest easier at night.  Are you ready for this?  Give yourself some grace.

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need.  My power works best in weakness.”  So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9

Paul had one of those “drop mic” moments with this verse.  Afterall, God designed you just as you are, with purpose and for a purpose.  He knows your coming and your going.  He sees the to-do list on the fridge and He hears the cries of desperation.  He understands where you feel you don’t measure up and grants you a pass.

This pass is to say no when you’re so used to saying yes.

This pass it to say yes to opportunities that will reap rewards of laughter, happy tears or a better sense of community, even if it means that you’ll have to dig through the hamper to find a wearable pair of pants tomorrow.

[Tweet “The secret to balancing all that life gives? Grace!”]

“Scripture instructs us to live presently and joyfully, resisting worry and believing Jesus set us free for freedom’s sake.  We have an abundance of good and perfect gifts that often look like a messy house full of laughter, a ten-year-old running through a sprinkler, a heart unburdened by comparison, an afternoon nap, joy in using our gifts and leaving the rest to people better suited.” {For the Love}

So this thing so-called balance, it alludes us all.  But what if we made a conscious effort to say no to the extras that do not bring fruitful outcomes for our life, say yes to the meaningful moments that hindsight will reveal as priceless, and a you betcha to the God who set all of this whimsy into motion.

How about it?  Live, love and show grace to yourself.  For the love, God knows you deserve it!

What choice can you make today that will allow you to accept the free pass of God’s grace?

[divider] [row-start] [three-fourths]Bree Blum is a just your average single thirty-something book loving, oil using, cardigan wearing blogger who loves Jesus.

You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.[/three-fourths] [one-fourth][/one-fourth] [row-end]