Grace Is the Best Birthday Gift of All

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 6:9

When I came across this passage, I knew that I wanted to set my heart on these words for the month of October. Grace is a concept that I’ve always been aware of but never really knew how to set it in motion.

Does it always work?

Is grace just something that God gives to me?

Can I give grace to others? How?

Earlier this year, I read Emily Ley’s book “Grace Not Perfection” and it really helped me understand the idea of grace as something that I could (and needed to) extend to myself. I’ve talked about my life as a recovering perfectionist before. I looked to perfection to control everything. And, as life brought challenging circumstances and painful emotions my way, I tried to lean even more into perfectionism as the solution.

You know what happened?

I felt these deep feelings of shame, embarrassment and disappointment because I just could not keep it all together.

Only within the past six months have I started to release those feelings. I’ve learned how to truly give grace. First to myself and then to others. My journey to freedom started the day that I decided to extend grace to myself. [Tweet “My journey to freedom started the day that I decided to extend grace to myself.”]

I realized that because I couldn’t do that for me, I couldn’t do it for others. Not only was a judging others harshly for disappointing or hurting me, but I was doing the same thing to myself.

There was a passage in Emily’s book that has never left my memory or my heart.

Choose gratitude and grace every morning. Grace and gratitude go hand in hand.

I come into my 34^th birthday in an extremely grateful place. This place could only be made possible by God’s grace. To say that I am looking forward to this next year of life would be an understatement. I am expectant. I am excited. I am enough.

I know that it’s my birthday but here is my wish for you.

Make room for grace.

It is truly the gift that keeps on giving… No birthdays needed.