Late on the Second Day

It was only the second day of school and I was late. I took the walk of shame, passing all the other moms who were on time and now chatting happily as I walk by with my first grader and two littles in tow. That sinking feeling of failure pulling me down. I signed her in and joked that somebody had to be late today.

It was hard to shake it off and still now I don’t know if I completely have.  

I have this perfect picture of how things should go in the morning.  You know this list maybe. Yours is plus or minus a few.

Kids neatly dressed

Healthy breakfast eaten

School lunch packed

Me dressed (at least not showing up in my pjs)

Teeth brushed

Hair done

Beds made

Breakfast cleaned up

Morning Bible story read

Prayers said

No nagging kids

Everything pleasant...peaceful

and of course

On time...

And when it does not go like this - or even if I come close but fall short by one or two - I am so quick to sink into the despair of my perceived failures.  

What’s crazy is I would never beat up another mom for having a morning of missed expectations. Yet, I can’t give myself that same grace.   

Why?

Because I forget. I forget the promise of these words.  

“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

Jesus gave these words to Paul when he was bemoaning his own weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), as I was this morning.

Grace. (Not the kind we say before dinner.) This grace is God’s favor. It’s His free gift of salvation to all who believe. We didn’t deserve it or earn it. Yet it’s given freely.  It’s “I’m perfectly loved and perfectly accepted.”    

And, yes, His grace is really all I need.

That list of expectations never will leave me with a heart full of peace. We can always find a way we fall short. 

Yes, I’m weak. Yeah, I don’t like saying it -- but it’s for real.

But that’s where God’s promise works best: in my weakness. That’s where His power works best because I stop living from a place of earning and start living from a place of “I already have.” I already have His love, His forgiveness, His favor, His grace.  And that is all I need.

His Grace + My Weakness = His Power Revealed

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT