Last time I talked about beginning with a question.
“How can I be helpful?” seems like a good place to start. Maybe I’ll add a couple of others.
This one comes from the reflections of my friend Jon Swanson. Jon’s a hospital chaplain who tries by example to help us learn to be a bit more gentle with ourselves.
How can I be mindful of “most days”?
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Ever do something really well 5 or 6 days in a row, then slip up on day 7? Me too. When that happens, where’s your focus?
If you’re like me, you ignore what went right and beat yourself up for the bad stuff. In fact, the bad stuff might be all you see!
“Most days” says we should give ourselves a break. It’s not about making excuses, but just recognizing our humanity. Rather than focusing on imperfections and beating ourselves up for every mistake, “most days” is a way to be just a bit more gentle with ourselves – and with others.
“Most days” won’t work if you’re designing a bridge – you need to get that right every day. But most of us in our everyday interactions would be better off if we did our best and allowed that to be enough.
Jesus wants me to love and serve my neighbor, to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. He wants me to do those things with all of my being, every moment of every day.
He also knows I’ll fall short.
So as we blast into a new year, let’s of course commit to doing our best. But how about if we also allow ourselves a bit of grace.
Let’s be mindful of “most days.”