Grace therapy

There's a friend in my life who just gives me a lot of grief with the comparisons she always gives. 

I try my best but still she points out that something is wrong. Her words echo… "Not good enough."

I could dress my best and she will whisper, "Nice, but not as nice as hers."

I mess up and let my clumsy words tumble out and she says, “well, that hurt, I could have said it better!”

The list of unwholesome negatives goes on and on.

Who is this girl?  If you and I were friends with her, wouldn't we want to put a stop to that relationship?  Let's be honest about her...some days she lives a little on the snarky side.

And when I part company with her, I am the one who comes away feeling like I will never measure up.  Day after day of spending time with that "friend", well it can wear a friendship out.  

Want in a little secret? ...yeah…you guessed it….. that "friend" is me, my negative self-talker friend.

Am I the only one who is at the back of this line for a little grace?

Ashamedly I have had these conversations with myself all too often. 

Those around me say, "Give yourself a little grace." Yep, sounds good, but it’s hard to do. I think what they really mean is that "please just give yourself some slack and don’t be so hard on yourself". And that maybe true, but I don’t really think that is God’s answer. Only God is the Grace giver.  And only His truth can combat this daily battle.

Is it about giving ourselves grace or is it really about receiving grace from God?

Grace says, "Yes, you messed up. But I forgive you.”

Grace says, “Yes, you have lost weight, but I loved you 50 lbs ago. I am still bringing you into my perfect beauty.”

Grace says, “When you bow to others to approve you then you don’t make room in your heart to live from MY approval.”

Grace says, “Even though I know you are kind of a mess sometimes, I give you my Fullness generously.”

God’s.Grace.Matters. God’s grace changes us.

So where in the Bible does it tell me to give myself a little slack?

Ephesians 4:29  "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

God's words to me:  "My child, every time you compare yourself to the next whatever and you come away putting yourself down, that is unwholesome.  I know each time that slips out of your mouth, I know each time you allow that to slip into your heart, and each time it bounces around in your mind.  And when you do that you are telling Me that I am not enough.  Let me remind you....I AM."

You see Grace is just that, a gift that we need daily.  God's grace therapy is needed like a bottle of spilled pills to medicate our lives, each time we are tempted to put ourselves down or when we whisper criticism in our heads.  When snarky falls on our hearts we need to know that we have to get back up to receive God’s grace therapy.  When this broken record keeps playing in our minds, we need to apply wholesome truth to ourselves.  

I am still loved, chosen, cherished by the King. I'm going to get back up and stand firm for Him again by guarding wholesomeness in my mind, body, and soul.  

Only God's grace can change. 

Only grace can quiet the voice within us that pushes us toward wipe-out.

Only grace can reclaim us so that it sustains us. 

Only God's can gracefully return us to where we belong again.  

Only Grace brings us wholeness in Him.

Only God's wholesome grace can benefit.

Only God’s grace therapy tells me the truth about who I am.

It's time to still our hearts, to quiet ourselves and instead listen to grace.  Wholesome Grace Therapy.

Shhhhh….Listen...Do you hear it?