There Will Be Grace.

Something Warm:: Last Week 1/7

You are reading this month’s free post on Cuídate. Next week’s post: 2024 Non Negotiables will be for paid subscribers only. If you want access to every week’s newsletter, as well as a bunch of exclusive paid benefits and the entire archive of my writing, then upgrade below.

We tend to put timelines on everything.

Timelines on grief.
Timelines on healing.
Timelines on our future.
Timelines on our careers.
Timelines on our goals.
Timelines on our growth.

And while timelines can challenge us to show up, work hard, and make things happen. Timelines can also guilt and shame us when we haven’t necessarily
reached our “goals” yet.

When I graduated high school there was a timeline on when I’d get my degree.
When I got married, and babies weren’t in the picture yet, the dreaded question
When are you going to have a baby came into the frame.

At the time no one knew we had endured our first miscarriage.
And the years of infertility and loss that followed.

The heartbreak and devastation wrecked me.
But,

In the midst of heartbreak and disappointment
I am reminded that
timelines don’t exist but grace does.

Sometimes we may feel too far gone,
too far behind, too far lost, too far broken
to receive the healing, love, and care that is for us.

But the truth is that even in the midst of unmet expectations and expired timelines GRACE is there.

There will be grace for the moments we get it right and the moments we get it wrong.
for the seasons of grieve, and the seasons we shout praises in songs.
for the moments of happiness and joy for the moments of pain.
for the days that are sunny, and the days when it rains.

Grace is there to hold us, comfort us, give us joy, and remind us that while we are living and breathing we can always be willing to receive healing, love, and care.

As I navigate some cloudy days, I am giving myself permission to grieve
and I am allowing grace to carry me through the gray days.

I am removing timelines,
and welcoming gentleness as it makes way towards me.

and even when I feel so lost,
to the point of guilt and shame,

I am trusting that grace will lead me home.

---

Encouragement for the Week::

Listen: A new song that I listened to this week
Sunflower - Rex Orange County

Reflect: Journal Prompts (Feel free to share in Comments)
- What does grace mean to you, and how does it manifest your daily life?
- Do you find it harder to extend grace to yourself or others?
- Reflect on a time you received grace from someone else. How did it impact your life?

Remember:
Even in the midst of unmet expectations and expired timelines GRACE is there.

---

Thank You for reading cuídate a monthly newsletter dedicated to the art of mindfulness where simplicity and slowness create space for joy, gentleness, and a renewed sense of purpose.

---

Can’t stop reading? Here are some of the Community Favorites::

A Gentle Pause
When fear speaks - A Poem
You are Worth the Investment
Living a Life with Open Hands
Fruitful Living - How I stopped waiting to enjoy life