Birthday Week

Well folks, we're near the end of my personal favorite week of the year: Birthday Week.

My love language is words of affirmation and there is no event quite like a birthday when people just spread the love all around, telling you how marvelous you are and how much they appreciate your existence and it's just the best! So thank you for making birthday week a time filled with love and affirmation and good vibes.

Birthday week meant so much because people gave me the gift of their words and time which caused me to reflect on two things- where would I be without the people in my life and how can I leverage my words and time for others?

Encouraging notes mean the most!  

I have some amazing friends and family and co-workers and roommates. You guys make my life overflowing with joy and it's such a comfort knowing I have people to turn to for life advice, a good cry, or just to catch up. There is no way I would be the strong, confident person I am today without you. In fact, in my weakest moments, I turn to a stack of cards from various times in my life. Each card has a note of encouragement
or word of affirmation written by someone who matters to me, whether an old church friend from junior high, a mentor who attended my graduation party, or a small group leader who guided me during a difficult season. When I feel out of control or forget who God has created me to be, these notes anchor me, even during the most challenging times in life.

So, how can I do this for others? How do I leverage my words and time to pour into those around me? What I've found to be the most meaningful is the gift of presences. Like how cliche is that?! But it's so true! Just last night, a friend and I where talking and he picked up his phone mid-sentence. Almost immediately he put it back on the table, turned to me and said, "I'm sorry, that's so rude of me." That small gesture truly impacted me because he showed he valued our friendship and time together.

Although birthday week has past and I have to wait a whole other year for the next one, I'm challenged to live in the present. To give my people the time I have and be fully there- listening, engaging, and pouring in to the lives of those I interact with. It's not going to be easy, of course, but then again the things worth doing are hardly ever simple. But it's in the discipline of presence that I can bless those who've been such a blessing to me!

Grace?

Have you ever journaled about something or prayed for something and then it actually happened? Cause I have and I actually didn't like it.

On Monday I asked God for times during this week to practice asking grace from other. And He supplied. This week has made me feel less than, caused me the question what defines me, and given me ample reasons to ask for forgiveness from others. And it's only Wednesday.

As I'm preparing for Thailand (STARTING THE 10 WEEK COUNT DOWN), I've been thinking about all the things I need to do like have self-disciplined, lose 5 pounds, learn how to spell words correctly, manage my money better, have effective communication, and love every single person I interact with. And the reality is that I am not going to master a single item on this list in 10 weeks, much less during my lifetime. 

Trying to let this be my life motto.

So. What do I do? What do I do with all my humanness and shortcomings and failings? Well, this week has taught me two things: ask for grace and, no matter what the other person's response is, God's grace is enough. 

Asking for grace from God is easy but asking other's is so hard. And then believing that God's grace is enough regardless of the other person's responce is even more challenging. 

I don't know how to do this well- asking for grace from others. I hold too much stake in other's view of me and forget how God sees me. But it is because of His grace that I can ask for it from others. I can ask for forgiveness for being late, loosing my patience, or missing expectations.  I may never master this skill, and I certainly won't have it all together before moving overseas, but grace is a gift that keeps on giving. God is enough. In my weakness, He is strong and it is only through Him that I find the strength to ask for grace from others.