When I first started this blog, I genuinely believed I would write and edit every day during one of my daughter’s naps. I started out strong, and I had close to ten posts composed, though not edited. The blog launched without my knowledge while working on editing a piece, and I decided to go ahead and start posting on instagram.
Then, I didn’t have the other posts edited. My daughter started eating solid food, which needed more planning. A sleep regression started. I began a job teaching English online early in the morning. Most importantly, I only had one nap to edit, write, clean, cook, wash clothes, so on and so forth because I either have to do something else with my husband, or honestly I need the nap because I am exhausted, though some of the supplements I have been taking seem to be helping with that a little.
Baby on the move
The many reasons I began this blog seemed to disappear as quickly as my energy. As I continued to stress over it, but not work on it at all. The pointlessness of not doing anything along with the money I had spent on the blog irked me. My thoughts may not be important. No one may care (which still bothers me a little), but they are my thoughts and opinions. They can help me decompress, which is why my husband wanted me to start a blog, and if something I say does help someone, hey! That’s awesome!
All this to say, I am trying not to get so caught up in making things perfect before sharing. Loving others with what I say and do is, and I hope to do that with this blog. I hope to do that with all things in life. I am not eloquent, and I am far from perfect, but I am trying. That’s all any of us can do. I want to give myself grace, which is something I tell my husband, sisters, mom, and more to do for themselves often.
Jesus has given me so much grace, what is a blog in comparison? I’m not saying I’m giving up because I genuinely feel called to write, but I am not going to worry about it not going perfectly. The Lord will provide the time and the energy as I need it.
As I learn to give myself grace, I encourage you to do the same. You don’t have to be perfect! The meals don’t have to be healthy every single time. Sometimes laundry gets left in the dryer for a while (or even the washer). Screen time happens. Those extra projects we were planning get pushed to the side. Give yourself grace! You need it. Your kids will be fine. Your husband will be fine. You will get it done.
Martin Luther once said there were so many things to do in the day that he found he needed to spend the first three hours of the day in prayer. It stressed me a little when I first read that, but the older I get the more I find that to be true, though I do not spend the first three hours of the day in prayer. God is faithful to help us, and spending more time with him does not cause more problems. It can’t. He resolves problems. He gives grace. If He gives it to us, we can surely give it to ourselves.