A Beautiful Melody

This post is by Jen Shultz.

We live in a world that tells us we only have value if we can produce some sort of output. There are metrics in the workplace, the gym, and even in our homes. We make lists of all the things that need done. I am not sure about you, friend, but I have been overwhelmed more than once with how quickly that list grows. Recently, I realized hustle culture just does not fit where I am at in my life. My hustle has lost its bustle and in a shocking turn of events, I have decided I am ok with that. Does that mean that I get away with ignoring my to-do list or ignoring the mountain of laundry that needs to be folded? Of course not. It just means that I have found my value in the rhythms of life that hold real value for me—grace, reflection, and rest.

Grace is something often tied to the divine and of course God’s grace is the most important. Giving yourself and others grace in situations or even seasons is worthy of a focused effort. The last six months have been challenging for me personally, and I have not given myself the time I needed to accomplish a lot of what seemed important in the moment. I had to learn (and relearn) that most timelines are arbitrarily set by me and that following God’s plan does not always mean I will be crossing off every item I thought I would achieve. Grace given rhythms are some of the sweetest because they mirror in me what I seek so often from God.

Once you start with a cadence, it is beautiful how quickly habits and other patterns fall into place. When grace arrives, reflection is soon to follow. How could it not when giving yourself grace changes the way you look at every situation- finished or still in progress? A pattern soon emerges where you actively and deeply look at the things that are taking up your days and you begin to reflect on things before instead of after the fact. And while both types of reflection have their own value, it is important to be able to invest time into making certain your plans are aligned with God’s before you expend a lot of energy. 

And it is right there in that space, friends, where the real opportunity to create a melody in your life shows up. Those notes of reflection and grace begin to weave a musicality to your life that is only deepened by the space those actions create for the allowance of true rest. We need less hustle culture and more time to be still. If we cannot push back at all the world tries to require of us, where do we find the space to connect with God? Our world runs on schedules, it is something few can ever honestly escape completely from, but we all deserve the right to create a space for grace, reflection, and rest. Once we start living in those rhythms, friend, the melody of our lives will be ever so beautiful.  

Jen is a small town, Oklahoma girl married to a superhero. Together, they are raising a family on second chances and a shoestring. She is a firm believer in grace, organization, and efficiency. She finds great satisfaction in taking broken items and giving them new life, likely because that is exactly what God did for her. She over uses the word shine, exclamation points, and emojis. Jen calls her family her greatest accomplishment. A natural born encourager and armchair warrior, she is learning to redefine her mission field and make the most of each day she is given. She has recently been promoted from breast cancer warrior to breast cancer survivor. She’s chronically ill and chronically positive—not necessarily in that order. She is learning to practice perseverance over perfection and longs for the day she gets to see her grandparents and Jesus’ face. Until then, she is just looking for Grace in the Grind.

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash