Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Ephesians 6:24 New International Version (NIV)

We may never live up to what we think God wants us to be.  We can try and try, but still fall short.  This doesn’t mean that God won’t love us.  It doesn’t mean that He won’t show mercy to those who still struggle to put themselves back together after someone has torn them apart.  We will make mistakes.  It’s who we are.  It’s part of being human.  And He knows, better than any of us, that trying to be more than human simply isn’t possible for us.  If we love Him (and He knows who genuinely loves Him), then He will draw us into His arms and bring us the peace we need when we need it.

I’ve done some things in my life that I’m not particularly proud of.  I’ve fallen short.  I’ve missed the mark.  I’ve been, what I would call a failure.  But I’ve come to terms with all of that.  Why? Because I’ve spent many hours in prayer, asking Him to help me be better.  I’ve asked Him the hard questions and the answer I received was this, “If you hadn’t gone through the pain, you would never appreciate the peace.”  Amazingly enough, this is probably the truest statement I’ve ever heard.  If there had never been any struggle, I would never have known what it feels like to be healed.  I would never have had faith in His ability to take what is broken and make it new.

In receiving His grace, I also learned how to give grace.  I began to understand that we can only do what we can do.  If we are in the midst of healing…or haven’t figured out how to start the process, we don’t have a lot to give to others.  You can’t pour from an empty vessel.  And sometimes, it takes a lifetime to reach the point where we no longer blame ourselves for the pain we’ve endured.  I encourage you to give yourself a break.  You are doing the best you can with what you have.  And even at your lowest points, you are loved.  If you are still hurting, then you are still in need of healing.  You don’t have to be perfect…nor can you ever be.  You can only learn to accept the blessings and the lessons that He gives and move forward.

I don’t say this enough and it has become very clear to me recently that I may not always have the opportunity to do so.  But I love the people in my life more than I can ever express.  I don’t ever want them to think that I hold a grudge or that I was harmed by something they said or did in their brokenness.  I have long-since forgiven any trespasses and now enjoy the freedom of having faith in your healing process.  I’ve seen great things happen and I know He isn’t done impressing us with His awesome power.  When the healing is all done, I know that we’ll all be ready to walk the path He has set for us…and we will walk it together.

I wish you all the love, healing, and peace that you will ever need in this life. ❤

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