1. Pumpkin spice and grace
For years, I have written about pumpkin spice in September. It’s a delicious way to treat ourselves and get ready for fall, if we are so inclined. If you’re not into sugary squash, it’s also the season of apples, sweatshirts (hopefully soon), changing leaves and a reprieve from hot weather. I find myself in a better mood overall when the days shorten, the air gets colder, and I can hold my cup filled with spices. What happens when I’m in a better mood? I can focus on grace. I get out of survival mode. I take care of myself and look outwardly to share that same love with others. Fall is for pumpkin spice and grace.
2. Grace for mistakes
It’s white supremacy culture to say we don’t “make” mistakes, we “are” mistakes. Some of this internalizing can be traced back to childhood when some of us may have felt that we had to be “perfect” to “earn” love. And if that’s not your experience, our culture has many ways of communicating that to you. I can get angry with myself and others for messing up. I sometimes think that I can do things better. What’s ego, what’s white supremacy culture, and what’s an extreme lack of grace? And how do we reorient our minds and hearts?
3. Grace for our faith journeys
I’m in a season where church is tough. I’m a bit disillusioned and a bit overwhelmed, and while church and community are important part of my spiritual and mental well-being, it can stress me out. It can sometimes even be painful. What I’ve learned is that it’s OK not to go to church and to take a break. It’s OK to commune with God in other ways. It’s OK to reach a spiritual drought in our faith journeys. We can always pick things back up when we have the space to do so.
4. Space (maybe grace?) for our neighbor
With our heightened political climate (that’s only getting hotter by the day), grace for our neighbor is hard. For some of us, our neighbors deny our humanity and seek to destroy us. I have a difficult time having grace for these people. Others I know have hearts that allow for abundant grace for persecutors. This is why I added “space.” When grace can’t show up, can there be space? We can’t control other people and what they’re going to say and do next. Yes, we speak out against it, and we demand our voices be heard. But when that becomes too difficult, maybe it’s space we need, if we have the privilege allowing it. Space from those who seek to harm us is needed to focus on what’s ours in front of us, love our community and love ourselves.
5. Grace for ourselves
I am my own biggest critic. I also have many friends who are their own worst enemy. We can get into, “It’s OK for you, but not OK for me” attitudes where we extend grace to our people, but when it comes to ourselves, grace is too much, or we feel we are undeserving. It’s easy to keep score of our missteps. I’m encouraging myself at least once a day where I say, “Ugh, I made that awkward,” or “Ugh, I forgot to do that,” to rub my hands together, place them on my chest, and say, “It’s OK.” It’s a therapy technique used to calm our bodies when our minds can’t be tamed. Try some grace this week and see if it can become a habit.
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