I am a perfectionist. It is true. I am breaking the mold, chip by chip, to embrace imperfection in its shining glory. Yet, some days, those insecurities seep into my day and I find myself slipping. Slipping from the arms of grace onto those shards of broken, that only wound when they are trounced upon by bared feet and raw flesh.
Grace has a way of softening the details so that the stepping is light.
There are the days that I find myself withdrawing into my little safe places. Are you familiar with them? The ones that take you away from the relationship, or bring you into moments of strife and loss; they grieve our God.(Eph 4:30) These moments break His heart, because they also break ours. They break those places that He has already mended. They tear apart the seams that were expertly bound together. They crush the wineskins that the new wine has filled out, purposefully.
I used to think that grace was meant for the good girl, because she could smile and love and be perfect. I used to think that grace had to be earned and that I was so far from that place. I used to think that grace was unreachable because there was a cavern I couldn’t cross, a valley that sank deeper than the fixed rope can belay, and a mountain that ascended heights unreachable. I used to think that grace was not for me, because no matter what I couldn’t fix those broken pieces.
The grace of God is made for the broken weak places.
“… My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”2 Corinthians 12:9
Grace reaches past the deepest valley; forges the greatest cavern; propels beyond the tops of the highest mountains.
It is measureless, because it is handed out by one that is uncontainable.
Grace is intended to soothe the wounded flesh and the ice-cold heart; it can match the passionate cry and the voiceless whimper.
Grace reverberates like an echo bouncing off of the walls back to the source of origin.
GRACE IS FOR EVERYONE.
For the grace of God (His unmerited favor and blessing) has come forward (appeared) for the deliverance from sin and the eternal salvation for all mankind. ~ Titus 2:11
I have 2 beautiful daughters destined to walk this grace road and son born to lead others to this eternal truth, each flawed with the tell-tale mark of seasons where hope fades. Naturally inheriting a bit their mother’s penchant for perfectionism, in some ways, they may also fight this struggle to have grace etched upon their living. Each one, perhaps, stifled by the examples, I know my own wrestling may have provided abundant material to glean.
And still there is hope, because there is grace… Unmerited Favor with God.( 2 Thes 2:16)
Grace doesn’t give us a free ticket to bruise and to wound, both others and ourselves, but it does give us the open door to the healing salve that will tend to those places where sin has left its calling card. Don’t let the regret and the sin that took you from that place of operating in the fullness of His blessings for your life continually rob you from the healing that His favor is meant to restore.
Grace is the remedy for the cracks in your vessel. It closes up the openings like a waterproof seal upon the windows of our soul, holding in the filling that only His Holy Spirit can complete.
When life erupts, like a volcano, blazing a burning path in its wake, GRACE reacts like a flood cooling the embers to steam. Though the singed places are sore and ashen, it is only on the surface where the scar may show. Beneath the shell, grace has woven itself into the deep; protecting, redeeming, and restoring fibers that now make you both stronger and more capable to withstand further injury. Sometimes we can’t see the tapestry our life creates, but I am confident when we look through His eyes we will see how expertly he guided the thread of grace into their completion.
Grace meets imperfection and creates a masterpiece which shines brightly.
Today as one moment blended into another, sometimes missing grace’s true visage, I thought about an element we may not realize is true. Grace is exactly like having your cake and eating it, too. Making a cake requires a recipe, directions to follow, and a pattern that guides the baker. It can get messy, especially when the inexperienced are learning. The baking takes time, heat, and patience. There is always clean-up involved, but the result is a mouthwatering delicacy that we are privileged to enjoy.
Like the process of baking a cake, grace takes us through the mess, wipes clean the dripping edges, and presents a beauty sweetened by love’s perfect stirring.
Praying for you to be dipped in the sweetness of His grace today.
~Blessings,
Linking up with:
Ann at Multitude Mondays
Jen at the SDG Party
Holley at Coffee for your Heart.
Jennifer at #TellHisStory
June at Wise Women
