Our youngest came to me the other morning during his school time and asked if he could learn a song for his brother on the keyboard. He was intrinsically motivated to learn, so I said sure. And that was our music class for the day.

I share this with you because right now we need grace.

Grace for ourselves.

Grace for our children.

Grace for our teachers.

We have all stepped into an unknown together. I know I have not been the perfect mom, or teacher. I don’t expect my kids to be perfect right now as this is all new to them, and they are missing connecting in person with their friends. And as a former Health and PE teacher, I can’t imagine trying to teach my classes online to my students, so my heart is with all the teachers out there as they navigate these new waters, and teach remotely.

I share this with you today because we can choose to get frustrated with ourselves, our kids, our teachers, etc.

Or we can see that we are all trying our best, which yes, may not look pretty some days. It may be more like a dance, one step forward, two steps back, and then a glide to the side.

I say this as well because not only are we trying to navigate learning from home, but we are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, which is new for all of us too.

We have no idea if someone has loved ones who aren’t well, or if fear and worry about this situation is gripping their heart. Some days parents and/or teachers may be having trouble showing up for themselves and their loved ones, yet alone develop a whole new curriculum online, or teach it to our kids.

Grace.

It’s what we need right now to help us let go of judgement and meet one another with the loving kindness we would appreciate being met with on our hard days.

I invite you to join me to...

pause. breathe. pray.

May we make it a practice to extend grace towards ourselves, our children, our teachers, and beyond. By doing so, may we walk beside one another, not pushing or pulling one another along. Instead, may we meet each other where we are and take the next step forward together, one step at a time. We will get through this. Let’s get through it together, with grace leading the way.

With love and hope,
Shawn

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” - Hebrews 4:16