If our focus is on Jesus, we’re looking to Him for how to respond to the person in front of us. And, in turn, whatever someone says or does to us now has to come through the “lens of Jesus.” And we can trust that whatever is untrue or unkind will fall away. 

When You look at me, You don’t see all of my past, present, or future mistakes. You see the full picture. For my human brain, that feels impossible to understand. Sometimes all I can see are the mistakes. I can hear someone say, “Leave your shame behind,” nod my head emphatically in agreement, yet continue to walk buried in my shame. Where is that shame coming from?

I want to be transparent, authentic, and honest. I don’t want to walk around with the idea that people may be questioning my integrity, especially in my writings and what God is teaching me.

So, you have my word, from here on out. 

I think I’ve spent a lot of my life waiting for God to do something big. But what if I’ve been waiting for God to show up when He’s actually been here the whole time?

I used to think being a good mom looked like being gentle and kind, baking and cooking, homeschooling and homesteading. All good things! But I’m learning that being a good mom might actually just look like being present with your kids, owning up to your mistakes, seeking forgiveness, and pointing them to Jesus in the way you live your life.

Maybe I don’t need to see the entire map. Maybe I just need to take the next faithful step.

When you’ve read the same sentence ten times, been interrupted before you can finish a thought, and reached your step count before 10am, sometimes all you can muster up is an exhaled, “Jesus.”

And that is enough.