I'm Learning

I’m learning.

In our modern social media world, it’s easy to promote the illusion of perfection.

Even in our attempts to encourage someone with a post, we can appear that we have mastered the discipline that we promote.

But sometimes the truth of encouragement is to be beautifully vulnerable about our need for adjustment. To hear someone say, “This is a lesson I’ve learned from a struggle, a difficulty, or even a failure.” There is something truly radiant about someone who is able to say, “I blew it, but this is where I’ve grown.”

Maybe that’s the essence of Jesus’ beatitude when He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

To be poor in spirit is not to beat yourself in penitence, but to acknowledge your dependence on grace alone. Grace doesn’t ignore the need for adjustment; it provokes and motivates you by love to grow beyond what caused you to fall short. The kingdom is not made up of people who say, “I’ve figured it all out,” but rather people who say, “This is what I’m learning.”

Authenticity is the fruit of identity, and honesty must tend to the garden of your own heart.

There is a humility that is necessary for honesty. Honesty isn’t just saying the truth, but embodying it in your being. An honest humility paves a road for an effective grace to change. It demands a surrendered lean deeper into the heart of the Father. This kind of love is the only way to lasting transformation.

My hope is that my words and actions never promote a strut, but always reveal the lean.

I’m learning that you can love deep, but not always well. I’m learning that it’s better to say “I’m sorry” than to say “I told you so.”

I’m learning that intentions don’t always have an equal outcome. I’m learning that patience and endurance produce the better fruit. I’m learning that joy is like dynamite to a calloused heart. I’m learning that love is more powerful than fear.

From the core of my being, I’m truly learning that all is grace!