Where the Ugliness of This Life Turns to Beauty [a letter to my younger self]
Wrapped in the grace of God is where the ugliness of this life turns to beauty. Share on X
Well I did it. I missed a Monday post. Nearly every week of the last 3 years I’ve published a post on Mondays. This week I had to, no I chose to, extend myself a wee bit of grace and skip it. The past couple weeks have been packed with preparations, kids’ stuff, and editing. Thanks for understanding.
Because of the miss, this letter to my younger self encouraging me to trust God in my messy journey has my 1000 gifts entries from last week.
Hi Julie,
Can I whisper something to your young, vulnerable heart? You have a glorious life ahead! Yes, you.
You have a glorious life ahead! Yes you! Share on X
And the best part? You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to fit in. You don’t have to complete a certain number of steps.
You see, it’s not about the perfect job. It’s not about the amount of money. It’s not even about how good you are.
But I have to tell you, this glorious life of yours, it’s not without problems. It won’t be without pain or heartache or struggle.
Oh, there will be plenty of laughter and love. But there will also be tears and anger.
There will be happiness and fun, but there will also be sorrow and confusion.
How? you may ask. How can there be sorrow and joy? How can there be suffering and peace? How can life be glorious if it is difficult?
Here this, sweet younger self, only through the power of the cross is there glory in anything! You can expect a glorious life because glorious doesn’t mean without pain or frustration.
You see a glorious life is not a perfect life. It’s a real life wrapped in the grace of God.
And in that wrapping is where the ugliness of this life turns to beauty.
A glorious life is not a perfect life. It's a real life wrapped in the grace of God. Share on X
So dear Julie, grab onto Jesus’ outstretched hand and never pull away. For in His embrace you will be gracefully led from a barren life to a full one.
Enjoy the dance!
“We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 1:12
Reflections: What would you tell your younger self?
I’m thrilled to link up with Suzie Eller for #livefreeThursday and this week’s prompt, “a letter to your younger self” as well as Bonnie Gray from Faith Barista, Kelly Balarie for #RaRalinkup, and even Susan Mead for #dancingwithJesus. I love these special linkups. They provide an abundance of great inspiration and encouragement all in one place. Click on the image below to check them out.
Closing in on 4 years of counting and I’ve surpassed 4,000 gifts in Ann Voskamp’s Joy Dare! What a blessing! Here are numbers #4038–4058. Read my entire list by clicking here.
- My guys being understanding about me being present but not really present today; Gracious people willing to proof my proposal and One Sheet; New phones and service all working
- Glimpsing our resident bats exiting their daytime resting place under our siding to start feeding; A happy Rach dropped off at Camp Courageous; Prairie garden in bloom
- Full day spent with the boys; Seeing Danny in action and loving his job; Hearing from presidential candidates who obviously love the Lord
- My boy’s home from camp! He came with a bonus: no more “Joey home?” from Rachel; Several amazing women gracing me with their “yeses”; Seeing my nephew and brother-in-law
- Fresh insight from a difficult place–kind of the way it works; Summer mix of heat and humidity; Rachel providing lunch and a berry smoothie!
- *My beautiful backyard, I want to never take it for granted; *Scent of freshly mowed grass, brings back all those wonderful memories of putting up hay; *Fingers that aren’t tired of typing, yet, as I prepare for #shespeaks15
- *Computer fixed for free under warranty, nearly new now!; *A day of writing; *Blessing of ceiling fans in 90+ temps and high humidity
By His Grace,
Julie
15 Comments
Leave a Comment
Hello, I'm Julie, an imperfect wife and mother of four. Life in this broken world is not always easy. Yet, joy can be found in each day through the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I find it's easy for our day's blessings to get lost in its happenings. But God's "mercies never end" (Lamentations 3:22) and His "grace is sufficient" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
May the posts and pages on this site offer you a measure of peace and encouragement.
Search the Blog
Categories
Maintain Godly Focus!
Are you struggling to maintain godly focus in the mess of each day's living? Do you too easily find yourself worrying about circumstances instead of trusting in God's promises? If you answered yes, why not download my ebook. It's filled with 25 power verses with space for personal reflection to help you maintain godly focus, no matter what situations arise.
(Privacy policy: Don't worry, your information is safe you can unsubscribe at any time.)
New Book, Just Released!
What a beautiful post, Julie! I love thinking that a Glorious life is not a perfect life. It’s a real life wrapped in the grace of God! 🙂
It does give a more comforting perspective, Betsy, doesn’t it? Thank you for stopping and your comment.
Tweeted and shared! Love that quote about the glorious life.
And I’m glad you gave your Monday some grace. That’s kind of what I wrote about – giving myself grace.
And WONDERFUL job on the 4000 plus gifts!!! That’s amazing, I bet it has made all the difference in this journey called life. I love that book, it has made a real difference in my life as well.
Blessings to you today, Julie, I’m your neighbor on #livefreeThursday!
Thank you for stopping, Ruthie, and your sweet comment! Counting gifts has totally changed my perspective.
I’ve often thought of this and even have a blog in draft mode “what would you tell your younger self!” On my mind…
It’s a great exercise, Susan. I believe I did it one other time years ago.
What a lovely post! A walk with grace is not perfect and there are some hard times but it glorious is that God is with through it all! Ps. I would tell me younger self that God loves you flaws and all!
So true, Lanae!
Beautiful! #livefreeThursday
Thank you, Crystal!
You did a very good job of talking to your younger self. I would tell my younger self that it is okay to be wrong about some things; that’s how we learn.
Indeed it is, Cecelia!
Julie, I just started following you (found through Bonnie Gray) recently. This morning in my thoughts I was wondering if maybe writing a letter to my younger self just might be in order during this hard season of life I find myself in…so this post made my heart leap. A confirmation to explore writing this way (now Lord I trust you for the moments to do so). Glad you posted this.
I’m so sorry for the difficult season you find yourself in, MelAnn. Journaling of any kind is helpful when we need to process a tough situation.
Author Jo Ann Fore has a book out about the power of sharing our stories and even coaches women in doing that. You may find some encouragement on her site: https://www.joannfore.com/. In fact she even has a journal entitled Write Where It Hurts: find it here https://www.joannfore.com/write-where-it-hurts-journal/
Praying for you.
Thanks for the links Julie…and for any prayers.