Giving Her Grace

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I recently did some serious spring cleaning. I didn't even mean to- it was truly by accident. You see, my little man (5 months) was down for a nap and I figured I would get a few things done while I had a minute. He hasn't  always been an awesome napper so I thought I had 45 minutes at the most. Well- fast forward 2 1/2 hours (!) and I had completely revamped our closet! Goodbye old pre-pregnancy t-shirts that have yet to come off the shelves since baby. Adios old way-too-short pajama bottoms. And yes, see you later husbands t-shirts that he just cant get rid of, yet hasn't worn in 2 years. Its amazing the things you can get done in 2 1/2 hours when you work as though you only have a small chunk of time! So freeing... Anyways- I found an old box of pictures from my freshman and sophomore years of college. Best time of my younger years, for sure. I was carefree, experiencing a whole new phase of life, making life long friends, and hopelessly in love with my now husband. And you know what- that happiness showed in my face. I was perfectly tanned, had a cute figure, and my smile was wide. I miss her! Fast forward 7 years and my tan is non-existant, my little figure is now plagued with pregnancy stretch marks and big ol' hips, and my smile has a little more hesitancy behind it. Maybe I have just grown up and see the world from a whole different view now, but regardless, I missed the girl in those pictures. I missed feeling beautiful just waking up. I missed being carefree, with school being my biggest responsibility. And I missed that feeling of dating my husband, rather than fitting in some chats about finances, baby and schedules before drifting off into a deep sleep by 9 pm. Now, I don't dislike my life- in fact I am incredibly content with where I am in life now. Rather- I miss how I felt in those days. I feel like I have let myself down.

Then- I realized- I need to give that girl some grace. The girl who meal plans, budgets, changes diapers, makes dinner, plans date night, and keeps life afloat. I need to remind her that she can still be that carefree girl she was 8 years ago. I need to give her grace to be the woman God has created her to be and live the beautiful life He has blessed her with. Afterall- she needs all the grace she can get!