Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day!
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Sometimes it is a blessing and a curse.
It helps me to do great work but sometimes threatens to consume me.
I am an achiever.
It might not sound like a bad thing. Most of the time it isn’t. For as long as I can remember, it have always wanted to go above and beyond, to raise the bar, to go the extra mile (except in gym class– I have only recently become and “runner” and no amount of money could have made me run that literal extra mile in middle school gym.)
One of my top strengths has been achiever. It is a blessing. Really, I am not complaining. Sure, it earned me a few eye rolls in school from my peers, but hey– hate the game not the player, right?
However, I have recently embraced the idea that sometimes we don’t have to be overachievers– we don’t even have to achieve. We just need to ‘Chieve.
Photo via Debbie Tingzon @ Flickr
I know, I know– my grammar savvy friends out there are on the verge of a meltdown because I just created a word. ‘Chieve. But it is a word that needed to be created, at least from where I am sitting.
Why is “settling” for status quo sometimes ok? Because it is in those moments that we are reminded how much we need Jesus.
And how much we need his grace.
In fact, His grace fills our gaps.
It’s ok to ‘chieve in our everyday moments with Him. Because He fills in our gaps.
It’s ok to ‘chieve when we want to follow all the “rules” and have our baby weaned off the bottle not a day past her one-year birthday but instead give in and ask for another day (or month– or few) as we grasp for the remnant strands of our sanity.
It’s ok to ‘chieve when our achieving selves want to run the full 8 miles of our long run straight up, right after coming off 10 days of illness but instead decide to take a few one-tenth mile walking breaks until our watch clicks over to that 8 mile mark.
It’s ok to ‘chieve when we hope to have our house all put together for the weekly homegroup gathering but instead settle for just a quick zoom of the vacuum and swish of the toilet brush in the guest bath and call it good.
It’s ok to ‘chieve when our nightly menu says to “whip up” some extensive and extravagant meal but we instead opt for leftovers.
Bottom line, my friends? It is ok to ‘chieve. Give yourself permission to let God’s grace fill in the gaps, knowing that we don’t have to go above and beyond to win his love.
He loved us long before we were on this earth, so nothing we can do, say, or overachieve at will influence His love for us.
In which areas of your life do you struggle with ‘chieving the most? What is hard about? Have you release some of your “above and beyond” expectations and rested at a more peaceful place? You know the drill. I would love to hear all about it. Join the conversation and leave a comment.
I could really say a lot more about this topic, but I think I am going to just ‘chieve today.
Because, really, it’s ok to ‘chieve.
‘Chieving with Jesus,
“The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” ~John 16:27 NIV
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