Giving Myself Grace

This morning, I gave myself some much-needed rest. After being dismally tired last night, I turned off my alarm, slept in, took a shower, and skipped going to the gym today. Arguably, some of those choices aren't normally the healthiest, but today was not a normal day. Today was the day after an evening in which I was so soul-crushingly tired that I broke down sobbing on the floor. This was not normal, and it should not be normal. I desperately needed more rest than I was getting, so I gave myself more rest than normal.

And, as it turned out, the gym coach seemed to accept my decision. When I got to school later than normal, too late for a workout before work, he was understanding. He acknowledged that we all have off days and that it's okay for us to take breaks when we need them. Naturally, it helped that I was otherwise fairly diligent about attending the gym, having made it there almost every weekday (apart from Fridays) for the whole semester. I suppose it's easier to give myself grace (as the coach put it) when I didn't need that much of it.

I also acknowledge that I was lucky to have the option to give myself rest. Not everyone can just choose to take it easy on a given day without facing dire consequences. It's not always practical for us to give ourselves rest.

But we can give ourselves grace. We can appreciate that we are doing the best we can with the strength, energy, and wisdom we have, and we can forgive ourselves when we fall short. Of course, all the cliches apply. Nobody's perfect. Everyone falls short sometimes. Etc. We should each give ourselves as much grace, compassion, and understanding as we would give other people (and we should give other people more grace, compassion, and understanding than they deserve, or at least, I try to). I've apologized profusely to those who were affected by my failings, and they have forgiven me just as many times. I should forgive myself, too.

God is merciful. If we are to follow His example, we should be merciful, too, even with ourselves. God teaches us to give grace to those who need it, and everyone needs grace. We should, when necessary, give ourselves some grace, too.