Grace

Have you ever had someone tell you to give yourself a little grace? I certainly have. I’ve also said it to other people, more times than I can count.

But then, I was asked: “how do you know when you’re giving yourself grace and not just making excuses. What’s the difference?”  

Woah.

I wrestled with this question for a long time. Like, a really, really long time. Is giving yourself grace really just the same as making an excuse?
I couldn’t accept that. And ultimately, after a lot of pondering, I realized that to me, the difference looks something like this:

Grace says that mistakes aren’t fatal; Excuses use mistakes as a reason to quit.

Grace says that progress is more important than perfection; Excuses use perfection as a reason to procrastinate.

Grace says ‘I am not my mess;' Excuses believe that the mess defines you

Grace understands the bigger picture; Excuses fixate on the tiny details.

Grace recognizes that people aren’t perfect and offers forgiveness; Excuses use the failure as a reason to write someone off.

Grace is big; Excuses are small.

Grace offers courage; Excuses propagate fear.

Grace brings hope; Excuses make you feel hopeless.

Grace gives you the reason to try again tomorrow; Excuses allow you to give up.

Which will you choose?