Some will have already jotted down their resolutions for the new year; others continue to ponder what it is they hope to put feet to in the coming days and months.
I am welcoming grace.
Grace has never been my closest friend. I've always been about no-nonsense rules, long lists and higher-than-I expectations. My self-made or perceived laws tend to govern my daily living and quite frankly, leave me tired, disappointed and sparsely contented. My desire to put to death this tug-of-war within is not something new, but how I am seeking to approach it is. Instead of using phrases such as "have to" and "should" and "must", I am allowing even my words to be seasoned with grace. That's why I am welcoming grace into my life this year. I'm flinging open the door of my spirit and bidding her come.
I prefer not to call this a resolution. A resolution, to me, is a little on the harsh side and leaves no room for failure, which is precisely what I am clamoring to get away from. There's very little grace in a New Year's resolution. One either meets the challenge or falls off the band wagon. Failure.
So I am welcoming grace.
I desire to walk more closely with my Father and less competitively with others.
I long to rest more deeply in Christ and jump through fewer hoops of performance-laden living.
I plan to hide his Word of truth in my heart and have this drown out the false voices in my head.
I aim to practice patience and kindness on myself and leave my self condemning attitudes by the wayside.
I yearn to experience the contentment of belonging to Him regardless of who else approves or doesn't approve of me.
I'm welcoming grace.
Those words, "welcoming grace", are so freeing for me. They have this beautiful ring tone of eternity in them. In my welcoming her, I can be assured she will stay. Even when I fail... and I will, grace will still be there. I may choose to not practice her presence, but God's lavish gift remains. He is proficient at continually showering me with His grace. Alleluia!
Let the calender turn its page, and a new year enter in.
Welcome grace.
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