Grace-Filled Intentionality

Each year, I'm someone who decides to make New Years Resolutions. In addition to my resolutions, I decided to choose a theme word to focus on this year. That word was “grace.” 

After telling a loved one about my decision, they asked: “What do you mean by “grace?” Like agile?” And before becoming a Christian, I would have probably asked myself the same question. The past couple of years, God has been continuously showing me what his idea of grace looks like and it differs from the typical definition that we often hear about in society.

As a young girl, I was in ballet. It’s interesting how when people describe ballerinas, they often call them “graceful.”  When they say this, they’re referring to the elegant way that ballerinas dance across a stage. I loved ballet, but when I think about the way I would describe “grace” today, I don’t believe my experience with ballet was one of grace.

Ballet was hard. It required dedication and lots of practice. I can still remember my ballet teacher reminding us how important it was for us to have good posture (she encouraged us to pretend our spine was being pulled vertically by a long string above our heads). Today, I look back at that experience and recognize how, as a recovering perfectionist, the sport encouraged me to be critical of myself – the opposite of what I think of when I picture what it means to be “grace-full.”

As a Christian, my definition of grace is not related to my ability to appear elegant or poised. It’s more related to showing myself self-acceptance and allowing myself to be imperfect. This is because I believe in a savior who says my worth is not determined by my own merit.

Grace is "the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God; the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them (dictionary.com)." This is what I was thinking of when I decided I wanted to live intentionally this year with the concept of grace in mind. 

Romans 3:21-24 says:

"But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

Before becoming a Christian, I was focused on earning other peoples’ love through my own personal achievements. I was a try hard and to be honest, I excelled in a lot of things. Because of that, I saw myself as being better than others. But, the Bible says that no one is righteous on their own – we all fall short of the greatness of God. Without Christ, I would be a totally different person and it is only by God’s grace (unmerited favor) that I have been eternally saved and transformed.

Because I have been saved by grace alone, I have no right to get hung up over my failures. My thoughts and actions don’t determine my value. This doesn’t mean I don’t have convictions or feel repentant over my mistakes or when I sin.  But when I ask God’s forgiveness, and turn from my own way of doing things, he instantly forgives. He doesn’t berate or shame us for being the imperfect people we are.

When we decide to surrender our lives to Christ, God is continuously working in our lives to form us into who He has called us to be (2 Corinthians 4:16). God views us as worthy of his love no matter what we do or do not do.

Romans 8:38 says that nothing can separate us from God’s love. This is huge for someone who believed that in order to be loved, I needed to be successful or give something to others first. This is huge for a recovering perfectionist who believed when she messed up or didn’t perform well, others would withdraw love and see her having less value (Satan is a straight up liar, yo!).

I don’t know about you, but I mess up a lot. Praise God that my value is not dependent on my ability to be a good person and love others well. Praise God that we don’t need to earn our way to God, because he already said we have worth and value before He chose to create us (Psalm 136:13-16).

God sees us as worthy so much He showed it by sacrificing himself (as Jesus) for all humanity (And He’s not going to take it back!). He is steadfast and faithful. The creator of the universe wants a relationship with us and it’s only by his grace that we get to have one.

Anyway… I probably could talk about this stuff for quite a while! My point in talking about what grace is and what it means for us is to explain the title of this blog: “Grace Filled Intentionally.”

If you’ve met me, you may have picked up on how I try to be intentional about the way I live my life and the ways I love others. Despite this, I’m only human and I aspire to remember the importance of grace as I seek to live out God’s purpose for my life (otherwise I’ll go crazy!).

My hope for this blog is that the stories and insights I’ve learned can be a blessing for you. God created us with a purpose in mind. He has created each one of us with unique talents, gifts, and interests. I think our primary purpose is to know Him and share him with others - so that we can find unconditional love, belonging, and freedom through Him. I also think when we choose to serve Him, we can have the privilege of seeing not only our own lives, but also those of others transformed.

My hope is that as you read, you will be encouraged to be intentional about the way you live your life. My hope is that you will embrace grace more fully and understand that your value is not dependent on anything but the love of God. And as you read, that you will be able to reflect on your own life and how you can best loves those around you.

Thank you for reading and for the ways you already love others,

Love always,

Danielle Marie