Receive Grace

I learned the hard way that I cannot always count on others to respect my feelings - even if I respect theirs. Being a good person doesn’t guarantee that others will be good people. You only have control over yourself and how you choose to be as a person. As for others, you can only choose to accept them or walk away. ~Unknown

Nothing makes my heart race faster than when I realize I may have jeopardized a friendship.

What if I didn’t listen enough?
What if I gave too much advice?
What if I didn’t give the right advice?
What if I didn’t…?

My personality – I try to fix everything. I’m not always good at listening. I am okay with silence, yet at other times I want to talk all…the…time.

I want to be the best friend I possibly can to everyone, so when I feel as though I haven’t been 110%, I am crushed. I don’t extend the same grace to myself that I desire to extend to others. I don’t extend the same grace to myself that others extend to me (I mean, they must, or I probably wouldn’t have any friends). I want to be the perfect friend, the perfect sister… I want to be perfect.

Jesus doesn’t even want us to be perfect.

He wants us to be aware of our weaknesses, so we can rely on His power alone to make us great. God wants others to see our weaknesses so there is no choice but for Him to get the glory.

Make sense?

These are things that have been mulling around in my brain for a bit. I’ve been to, like, 2 parties in 2 weeks, so it’s been pretty overwhelming. The desire to please man over God has been great. God has been comforting me, definitely, and encouraging me to keep being me, even if I forget to listen more than I speak. Even if I am not the best of friends, He wants me to trust that His words are coming through.

Grace is not just something for me to give, but to also receive. I forget that so much.

So today, I hope you receive grace, dear reader. That it floods your body and overwhelms your heart.