Throughout the past few weeks, I have really embraced the idea of grace and have learned so much about it as I have applied it to my everyday life... a lot! The most profound message that has been stuck in my head is "grace is aggressive forgiveness". Think about that statement and how it applies to God and to your everyday life. Grace is not a thing, it is a person, and His name is Jesus. He gave the ultimate example of forgiveness. And we should pass along this Grace to those around us.
Aggressive Forgiveness
What does that look like? Forgiving everyone, just as Christ forgave you. Yes, even those people who do unspeakable things to you. Did they lie to you? Give them grace. Betray you? Give them grace. If you deserve grace, chances are everyone else around you does too. When someone irks me, instead of being impatient and quick to draw conclusions, I try to put myself in that person's shoes. Maybe they're driving slow because they have a birthday cake in the back seat that they don't want to turn over (you know you've been there). Maybe they just got their own bad news, putting them in a bad mood, causing them snap at you. You never know what someone is going through, and it's not your duty to judge.
This also means aggressively forgiving yourself, for not being the perfect individual you set out to be, or for falling short of your goals, or for whatever other shortcomings you may think you have. You are the most perfect you there ever was, so keep that in mind every day.
So I know I've been talking about giving yourself grace a lot recently, but being the type a person that I am, I appreciate when someone tells me step-by-step exactly how to do something. So here you go:
- Make a list of all of your responsibilities. Sort out the ones that are must do, versus the ones that you can limit. And limit them! Say no on occasion when you have too much on your plate. You can't do it all and you shouldn't have to.
- Outsource if you can. Cleaning the house is something I keep up with daily. I usually clean a small portion of the house each day, rather than cleaning it all at once because the idea of taking hours a week to clean the whole house is daunting to me. In the next few weeks while Josh is healing, I'll be handling all the household jobs by myself all while planning and carrying out a first birthday party for Addison. So I'll be giving myself a little grace and outsourcing the cleaning to someone else so it's one thing off my plate. It's definitely not something we can swing all the time (it would be nice!) but during a busy time like this, it's worth the added expense.
- Ask for help. This is something I struggle with! I try to handle all my responsibilities and be everything for everyone all with a baby on my hip. And for the most part, I get it done! But boy is it nice to go to the grocery store or run a few errands on my own. Ask for help, because there are so many people around you who would be happy to help, you just have to reach out and ask.
- Get organized. This is huge. When you have everything all in one place, it helps you be more productive and knock out your to do list. I use a planner, but you can use a notepad if it helps. Write down everything that needs to be done, even down to getting a shower if you haven't done it yet. Crossing things off a list keeps you going and makes your tasks look and feel more manageable. If you need help with this, reach out! This is one of my favorite things to do and I love helping others with it too. I'm such an organization nerd!
Use these tips to help yourself out this month. And use that spare time to be present for your family. Do something fun. Go on an adventure. Have a party. Life is short, and it's about being happy together, not stressed out alone. Have a great week!
Xoxo,
Kaitlin
No comments:
Post a Comment