On Grace & Faith

This entry is a bit more personal for me. Although I am proud of my faith, I hesitate from talking about it “too much” because it can feel controversial or like I’m trying to convince someone to be religious. This is NOT the point of this post. It is about how thankful I am for forgiveness and how necessary it is to practice grace in the crazy world of 2020.

First off, I am far from perfect when it comes to my faith. Growing up, both Nick and I were raised Catholic, attended Sunday School and then I taught Sunday School with my hometown bestie. I received all of the sacraments, sponsored a few confirmations & was married in the Catholic Church. However, for anyone familiar wIth Catholicism, I am sure you have heard that the “rules” can be quite strict. Nick and I lived together before we were married (a Catholic faux pas), my daughter was at my wedding (8 weeks in my belly- not ideal to the church) and occasionally I swear in front of my kid, disrespect my husband or judge a stranger unfairly. Literally, thank God for forgiveness.

But Church is Home for Me

Regardless of all the ways I have strayed from the rules of Catholicism, I still am greeted warmly when I attend our church. As a young girl, I went to mass every Sunday with my Grandma Keihl. We would sit through the service and then go to the local bagel shop for hot chocolate where I would tell her about my week. Little bit of church, a lot of whipped cream on my hot chocolate, but most importantly a weekly chat with one of my favorite ladies. My grandma has since passed, so those weekly dates have become a sweet memory for which I’m thankful. Once my grandma became too sick to go, I would attend church with my mom, my sister, and now my daughter. The hour long mass gives me time to pray, sing, reflect on my many blessings and escape a bit from the pressures of the world. It sort of feels like an hour at the spa, is that weird? I am sure for some it sounds it, but it‘s calming & reminds me the world is so much bigger than me.

Faith Within our Walls

As I shared in my morning routine blog post, I start my day with two devotionals and some prayer. Joyce Meyer tends to be my favorite author for the short and sweet readings, but there are many other great ones available. Starting my day with a few bible verses reminds me to approach what’s on my plate from a place of kindness.

Saying grace before we eat. Since my life is run by my 16 month old, sometimes we eat 2 or 3 dinners. Therefore, there are certainly nights this is lost in the chaos of eating with a toddler, but we want it to be as tradition for our children as it was in both of our homes growing up.

At night, Nick and will say our prayers together out loud. We started doing this after we were married and I have to say, I love it. It is nice to hear what is on his mind and offer up our anxieties & blessings before going to sleep.

That’s it! Nothing fancy and nothing overly time consuming. These can also be replaced with positive affirmations and personal development excerpts, sharing the best and worst parts of your day at dinner or before you go to sleep with your partner. All of these rituals strengthen our marriage and our ability to be parents, regardless of the specific faith chosen to practice.

Most Importantly, Have Grace

Just like anything else in life, faith doesn’t have to be perfect for you to enjoy it, practice it, and include it in your daily routine. I am a perfectionist, so this has, and still can be, hard for me. I don’t like doing something unless I am good at it, but then I miss out on things I enjoy. Over the past year, my perspective has been challenged as I see life through my daughter’s eyes. She tried to walk for months, with many, many tumbles, until one day it clicked. Gigi now runs and squeals because she has SO much fun doing it. It scares me to think of the day someone will tell her not to practice something because she isn’t good at it. Don’t be that person. Encourage others. Encourage yourself. Try a new recipe. Take a new workout class. Go for your dream career. It is okay to fail. I have a client who is 91 years old and asks me specifically to teach her a new lifting exercise or yoga pose each week. She then laughs & tells me, “Morgan, how else do you think I stay so young?” Touché, my sweet friend.

xo

Morgan