The Pace of Grace

When the world around you feels chaotic tap into the pace and power of God's grace.

Grace (n): the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.

Have you ever been on a really great road trip with your family or friends? You know the kind of trip where everybody is laughing recalling funny memories, eating all kinds of "not good for you" gas station treats, you've got your shoes kicked off and your heart is at peace. What if I told you that is what I think of when I try to explain the pace of grace. I first heard the phrase "pace of grace" in a sermon and have been pondering on it ever since. When we are moving at this pace the load just feels lighter, easier. When we begin to walk ahead of or behind the pace of grace (AKA the will of God) we can find ourselves empty and worn. Let's road trip together through a few new ways of sticking to that pace.

Fuel Up: Remain Present In The Present

Whether you learned it in Sunday School or sometime later in life pretty much everyone knows the Lord's Prayer. Say it with me "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Notice that it's daily bread, not next week's bread, not next year's bread.

When the worry of what will happen next start to creep in so does stress and anxiety. I truly believe God gives us just enough grace to deal with the crazy of today, so on those days you feel like you are out of gas and done with everybody, call it a night. Put on your favorite pajamas, turn off the lights, and just go to bed. I promise you will be able to see the world clearer in the morning. Staying up late overthinking, overworking, or crying in frustration will only take more from you. Rest and refuel your mind and heart with good music, quiet time, or a convo with a good friend (or mom), worrying never solved anything.

Watch For Signs: Slow Down & Listen

It is so easy to miss the mini-miracles that happen every day when we become a victim of the grind. When we become obsessed with checking things off the to-do list, working incessantly, and living without boundaries we become slaves to our work and can miss out on our God-given purpose. Taking intentional time to slow down will cause you to tune in to the things that make your heart leap with joy and anticipation. I have watched others become so caught up on their next step that they lose sight of the fact that they're on the wrong path completely. If you are walking at the pace of grace you have to create space and opportunity in your life to pay attention to markers along the path pointing you in the direction of peace. Did a friend just happen to mention an opportunity that seemed perfect for you? Did you feel prompted to drive a different way home and spot a billboard advertising something that you've been thinking about or praying about? These things happen all the time but we are often too busy to notice, aimlessly driving at a pace far too fast and in the opposite direction of purpose.

Detour Ahead: Find The Path of Peace

I know I've talked about energy vampires before, but did you know that there are also PEACE VAMPIRES out there? Folks that just drain the peace from your life with every interaction. Your mind was in perfect peace before you talked to them and now your thoughts are all over the place because they ran you through 25 different hypothetical situations in one conversation. PUT YOUR FOOT ON THE GAS AND BURN TIRES IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF THESE PEOPLE!! The path of peace is often the road less traveled because it can cost you likeability, and for some that price is too great. But what does it matter if you are liked, loved even, at the cost of your own joy?

For a long time, I believed that it was my job, my responsibility even, to take on all of the problems of the world. NEWS FLASH - I couldn't, and not only that I lost my own sense of peace in everyone else's chaos. Don't be afraid to detour when you find yourself in a place, relationship, or situation that drains you of your peace. Create new paths of peace in your life, unfriend that fool that irritates your soul every time they post something crazy, ask to be removed from that hot mess of a group text that never contributes anything positive to your life, step away from relationships that don't serve you and wish them the best.

Activate Cruise Control: Surrender

Sometimes God will allow you to take a gut punch that will knock the wind out of your sails just to realize just how truly adrift we are without him. I'm reminded every time I look at my daughter just how much a year can change everything. The darkness and depression that follows a miscarriage (even when you already have children) is something that is hard to put into words. We’d never intended to have #3 but when we found out that we were expecting we were both so excited about the new beginning, to then lose the baby was so devastating. We’d told all of our close friends and family and even took pictures in the “we’re expecting” shirt. I went through the process of letting everyone know the sad news. I was in such a low low place in the weeks that followed but knew in my heart and prayed to God that I would someday have a baby girl. I had no choice but to trust him with my hopes, dreams, and fears. Life was so hard during this time, work was hard, marriage was hard, and I felt like I lost my spark. On the day I miscarried my devotional focused on the Shunammite woman and I couldn’t help but to hold on to the words of 2 Kings 4:16 “Surely this time next year you’ll hold a baby in your arms”. So when I made my vision board at the end of 2019 I cut out a picture that caught my eye of a baby girl next to a small pink Christmas tree and shakily pasted it on a small corner on my board. In January I focused on my physical health and fasted and prayed, by February I was pregnant. But this time I felt like I was holding my breath the entire time, even when morning and all-day sickness throughout served as a constant reminder that she was there I was so afraid to feel connected to her out of fear of losing her. Throughout my pregnancy, I saw rainbows almost monthly as I went on walks, even as chaos was going on all around me I felt God continuously reminding me of his presence. When she came into the world at exactly 36 weeks (she’s an impatient little thing!) I felt like I breathed fully for the first time in a year. The maternity leave that followed birthed a resurgence of energy and life in me and ultimately became one of the catalysts to starting this blog. What seems like the end of the world God can turn around and make new in an instant but you must surrender control. As scary as it can be to take your hands off the wheel, God is the safest cruise control out there.

Life without question will have twists and turns, no one is exempt from them. We all face challenges, triumphs, heartaches, heartbreaks, and joy. But take heart, God is with us, is in control, and wants to see you win, but only at the pace of grace.

It's been fun road tripping with y'all - off to my next writing adventure,

Tiffany