Finding Joy in the Journey: The Gift Of Grace

Have you ever noticed, as women, how easily it is to judge other women? "Well, if she would just discipline her kid!" "If she was just home more, if she would just get out more.." "Why does she over schedule her kids so much?" "She spends way too much time working." "Her house is always a mess"....
We all do it. We don't even realize it. But the other side of the coin is just as painful. As moms, if we were truly honest to ourselves, we mess up...a lot. We really don't need anyone to point it out. We (for the most part) are fully aware of our inadequacies.
If I might be so bold as to say, what if we gave the gift of grace today? What if we believed the best in others and we were not so quick to judge?
I hate it when a see a mom being so flustered and rushed, being quick and to the point with others. And I think to myself, "Well, you should have planned better and maybe gotten up earlier!" Until that mom is me. Ouch. Or what about when I see a mom appease a child with a toy or a treat to keep them quiet in the store. Our thoughts might be, "Get a backbone lady!" Until it is us in the store doing just the same. Grace......
It's very easy to give a quick 30 second judgment about a mom. Especially those moms that seem really hard or cold. We think to ourselves, "Wow, they must really think they have it all together!"
What if we had a paradigm shift in our thinking? You know, changing the way we view others and think about them? You see, until we've walked in some one elses shoes, we'll never really know, will we? We'll never know why people do the things they do. We'll never know if someones husband has been unfaithful or walked out on them. We'll never know if that girl who seems to have it all together is so lonely and hungry for friendship. We'll never know if that lady who just sped past us on expressway wishes she could just drive off a cliff because she just lost a child. What about the one with the wild children in Target? And we think she should just skip Target altogether! It's probably not easy for that woman to face Target either. You just might come to find out she's a single mom who is doing the best that she can.
Today, I ask you- as a mom and a woman that is doing the best that I can- Can we offer the gift of grace today?
Instead of being quick to judge, gossiping, or tearing each other down, what if we could offer understanding and unconditional love? Wow, now that just might give Jesus something to work with. Even if, in our own eyes, they don't deserve it. I am so glad I don't get what I deserve! How many times has Jesus given us something because we deserved it? Do we have to earn a His love first? No.
You see, Jesus believes the best in us. Even when we don't see it in ourselves. What kind of world would this be if we, as women, would offer this gift of grace to one another? The gift of a smile, the gift of acceptance. And then freely receive it from others?
Instead of eating our own, how about restore, nurture, and love? Go ahead, give that gift of grace freely, and then people will know that you are truly His.

New American Standard Bible (©1995) Psalms 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.