Most of the time, when we make a mistake, we are very aware of our screw up. The last thing we need is to be reminded of it. We have such a tendency, almost an impulse, to point out other people’s flaws. Maybe it makes us feel better about ourselves if we can at least see that someone might be in a worse spot than we are.
May I encourage you friends to love people through their mistakes? Resist the urge to remind them of that one time they messed up. Extend grace to them. Hug them. Let them talk about it but don’t put anymore guilt on them.
Begin the practice of extending grace rather than judgment. When someone gossips to you about another person’s flaws, don’t engage in the conversation or instead say something positive about the person’s behavior. Mistakes only define us when we allow them to. How much do you want other people talking about everything you’ve done wrong?
I believe we need to make more effort to release things in our lives that do not serve us. We carry around our burdens, our mistakes, our regrets; almost like a badge. Not of honor, but of disgrace. That stuff is so heavy friends. Put yours down and help those around you but theirs down too. Forgive yourself and let it go.
Consider all the space, peace and freedom you might experience if you released some of those things from your life and replaced them with grace and acceptance? What lighthearted people we would be. Consider how differently those around you would feel if you celebrated their successes and forgave their mistakes. We have such a tendency to skip the celebration. We move so quickly on to the next thing. Celebrate the victories and lay down the mess ups, carrying them doesn’t add to the outcome, it simply detracts from the future.
