Five Minute Friday ~ Graceful

Graceful.  Could that word be used to describe her?

She was the kind that was most comfortable in a pair of jeans and her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Give her a choice between ballet and soccer and she would choose soccer every time.  She loved the dirt and the satisfaction of a hard days work.  She felt alive when she mixed concrete, chopped logs, dug trenches.

So, graceful?  Not so much.

But then she found herself in a group of young girls.  And all of  a sudden she was thrust into a role that she was not entirely prepared for.  Youth leader.  Youth pastor's fiance.

They were looking at her with their straightened hair, their ease with a crowd, their understanding of how to apply make-up.

How was she supposed to teach them?  What could she possibly have to offer when this graceful beauty thing was so far beyond her?

As she laid down her own pride, she discovered something truly beautiful.  These girls were not looking for perfection.  They were looking for real.

She loved them with all of her heart and as she opened herself up to them, she realized what graceful really means.

Graceful is the understanding that we desperately need Jesus.  None of us are perfect.  Even with our attempts to show perfection to the world, we know that we can never live up to that.  Graceful is trusting in the God who made us to do His work in and through us.

"My grace is sufficient for  you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  (2 Corinthians 12:9)

She is truly grateful for that lesson that she learned all those years ago.  And she is still most comfortable in a pair of jeans with her hair pulled up in a ponytail!

Linking with Lisa-Jo for Five Minute Friday.  The challenge is to write for 5 minutes on the given topic without any editing.



Today, Lisa-Jo is celebrating one of my favorite writers- Emily from Chatting at the Sky.  Emily's first book "Grace for the Good Girl" is one that every woman should read.  And I can't wait to share her newest book "Graceful" with the young girls in my life.  Are you looking for a small group study to do with young women?  I have no doubt that "Graceful" will be worth pursuing!