What is Grace?
We hear the word a lot in Christian circles but what is the best definition of grace? What is extending grace to others and how do we show ourselves grace?
Grace When You Are a Mom
Last time when we were talking about fear and the thoughts of not being good enough, we touched on the fact that sometimes moms just feel like a slave. We have so many demands, the dishes, laundry, cleaning, cooking, shopping, sometimes money management but always the care of the children all fall on mom! That’s a lot of things to juggle and to be honest, that’s not everything.
Mom takes on a lot of things and we fail in every single area, sometimes daily. This puts so much pressure on you to perform even better, faster, more knowledgable. Even if we could stay on top of everything, our energy fails us and we wouldn’t have time enough to care for ourselves.
The Best Definition of Grace
Then the guilt settles in. It’s a terrible cycle that seems to never end, but there is an end. God’s grace.
Grace is the gift of God's favor, forgiveness and love despite our inabilities.
Regardless of our failings, our sin, and our inability to reach God’s high standard, He has self-lessly provided grace. This grace is the gift by which we are able to go to Heaven. And as with any gift, it must be accepted. We must recognize Jesus as our Savior, our substitute for the punishment we deserve, by Whom we can now bypass the punishment for a gift pass into Heaven. Craziness! It’s mind-boggling to be sure.
This gift of grace is active in our lives each and every day.
How to Extend Grace
So here’s the thing: God’s grace is not just for salvation. God has given us grace for enduring the actions of others, and of ourselves. When we go each day hating ourselves, feeling guilty or unworthy we are not walking in God’s grace and love. We are then walking in our flesh and self-centeredness. We are only focused on how things make us feel and how we should react. But step back and consider how God views these situations. Just for a moment, think about why God allowed this to be in your life and how you can turn it around for His glory (instead of your defeat).
- How can you use this situation to show your son or daughter what God expects of them?
- How can you prepare dinner in a way that shows God’s love for your family?
- How should you see yourself, as God’s servant in motherhood, that would be like Christ saw Himself as God’s servant in being Messiah?
We can show grace to others by being patient with them. And we do the same for ourselves. We all fail, our husbands, children, neighbors and need someone to be understanding. Take time to pray about the different situations you face and how grace can cover it.
If you’d like more motivation for moms just click on Daily Motivation in the sidebar of my blog. Leave me a comment below about what things you need grace for, I’d love to pray for you.