Falling Behind in Life: Permission to Be Where You Are
If you’ve been reading my words for any amount of time, you know how often I write about slowing down and cultivating rhythms of rest. I thought I was an expert at slowing down. Then I picked up Jennifer Dukes Lee’s book, Growing Slow, and her words stopped me in my tracks: “We need permission to be where we are.” Tears filled my eyes as I recognized an underlying sense that I was falling behind in life.
Falling Behind in Life
Yes, I thought as I read her words. I do need permission to be here—right here, right now.
And so began my journey into giving myself permission to be where I am, relinquishing the fear that I’m falling behind in life.
I have a hunch most of us could use permission to be where we are.
As for me, I need permission to be exactly where I am with my dreams and my faith. Let me explain.
Permission to Be Where You Are With Your Dreams
Jennifer wrote about her journey as a writer, and she used words like “platform,” “growth,” and “audience.” She wrote about chasing her writing dreams and feeling weary as she ended her days in hotel rooms.
I read her words and thought, “I don’t want that life either.”
As much as some part of me wants to travel and share hope with the world face-to-face, I know where I am most needed right now. And it’s not at a women’s conference thousands of miles away. I am most needed right here with these three blue-eyed children. I’m needed for our morning devotions, kisses before getting onto school buses, afternoon snacks, and supper at the kitchen table—even if we’re eating pizza for the third night in a row.
Perhaps you need permission to be where you are with your dreams, too.
Today, I invite you to dream the great dream you’ve been afraid to speak aloud. I invite you to name it and cast vision and pray about it. But I also invite you to let it germinate, take root, and begin slowly. 
You’re not falling behind in life because great dreams are rarely birthed overnight.
Perhaps your dream is smoldering like a fire that started hot but quickly burned down to smoky embers. You have permission to be here with the smoky ember, too—to ask hard questions about motivations and God and timing.
You have permission to keep dreaming. But you also have permission to put the dream on the shelf and save it for later.
Our dreams are often closely related to our faith. We believe in the dreams planted in our hearts and seek God for direction. When these dreams are slow to come to fruition, our faith can take a hit.
Let’s talk about giving ourselves permission to be where we are with God.
Permission to Be Where You Are in Your Walk With God
Dallas Willard believed that faith is intricately linked with trust in God—so much so that he often used the terms “faith” and “trust” interchangeably. This link between faith and trust has helped me understand faith in a way that directly applies it to my life in countless ways.
Giving myself permission to be where I am in my faith feels like an invitation to freedom. Here’s what I mean.
I want to trust God with the parts of my life that don’t make sense, but I often feel like I’m failing him because I haven’t arrived at perfect trust.
I also want to trust that he’s really going to heal the parts of me that still feel broken, help me find freedom from bad habits that have followed me for decades, and bring his good plans to pass in every realm of my life.
When trust falls short in these areas, I return to the old vice of self-effort. I try harder, set higher standards, and sacrifice sleep. I push and press and turn to willpower.
Meanwhile, God gently invites me to press into him. He reminds me that transformation happens through our secure attachment to him, not through human strength. God also gives me permission to be weak, to falter, and to ask hard questions. He gives me permission to be right where I am with my doubts and fears and worries. Not surprisingly, this permission feels a whole lot like freedom.
Do you feel like you’re failing or falling behind? Take a deep breath. You have permission to be where you are as well. What would it look like to be where you are today?
A Free Devotional for When You Feel Like You’re Falling Behind
I have a gift for you. Would you like to connect with God in ways that breathe fresh life into your weary soul? The Weary Woman’s 20-Day Devotional is my free online devotional to help you connect with God in your worn and weary seasons. You will find 20 daily readings to help you find refreshment in God’s presence. Click here and I’ll send it to your email inbox today!
These life-changing books are free on Kindle Unlimited or available to purchase in print:
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
Calling all moms and daughters!
Additionally, my teen daughter, Bekah, and I are passionate about helping moms and daughters grow closer while connecting with God. We have written two mother-daughter devotionals together. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section after each devotion.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, purity, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. We will help you!
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