Grace- Step #6

Step #6 is extending grace to yourself and others.

This is actually a good day for me to be writing this. I need the reminder.
As I think about the day at school, I'm pretty sure I could have done better at this. I teach middle school and the honeymoon period is definitely OVER! It's at this point that I need to be able to extend grace more than ever.

How do you extend grace to yourself?

This is tough to do, and I struggle at it many times. What I can tell you though, is not only is it essential, but necessary if you want to be able to extend grace to others.
In order to extend grace to yourself, you need to be able to reflect. You need to be honest with yourself and your feelings and reflect on the day, week, month, year etc.
When I have felt like a failure at something....anything...I reflect. Did I even really have control over the situation? If I didn't, I extend grace. If I did, then it's time for me to get real with myself and look at what I could have done differently. If I need help in this process, I go to my people that can speak in love to me and ask for their help. Once I have determined what I could have done differently, I extend grace, and move on. Even if I'm never in that situation again, I have reconciled it within myself and let it go. If I am in that situation again, I do it differently, and reflect again.


How do you extend grace to others?

Basically you have to be right within yourself. You have to be able to look at their situation and determine if it was really "them" or a situation they are in. If they had no control over the situation and couldn't have done anything differently, extending grace needs to just happen. If you can't then you need to go back to looking to see if you are extending grace to yourself.

If that person had control over the situation, then you have two choices. If you are a person that can speak to them in love, you need to do it. Help them extend grace to themselves and you will extend grace to them at the same time. If you are not one of their people that can speak in love, you may need to leave the situation, and reflect on yourself to extend grace to yourself. It's always a good idea to extend grace to them, but remember you cannot control whether they choose to receive the grace that is extended.


How did my day go awry?

I teach middle school. enough said! no, seriously, it was a rough day in the middle school. I am the adult. They are trying to be adults and little kids all at the same time with raging hormones! I need to take time and mentally prepare everyday before stepping foot into the building. I need to extend myself some grace. Then I can look at my students and evaluate what is in their control and what is out of their control and how that is effecting them. That does not mean that all discipline goes out the window. There always needs to be accountability or we never learn.
Also, being the adult and a veteran teacher I know how to structure my classroom to try to avoid some things but that doesn't always work. Then grace is most certainly needed.

So, tomorrow is a new day. I have extended grace to myself for today, and will go to school tomorrow with a different mindset.


#Findyourjoy