Permission to Be Where You Are

I didn’t think I needed to read a book called Growing Slow.  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.  But then I picked up Jennifer Dukes Lee’s book, and her words stopped me in my tracks: “We need permission to be where we are.”  I wonder if you need this too: Permission to be where you are.

Permission to Be Where You Are

“Yes,” I whispered out loud the instant my eyes scanned the 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.

I have a hunch most of us could use permission to be where we are.

We need permission to keep chasing our wildest dreams, messing up in places that matter deeply to us, and we even need permission to call in sick to work when our souls are far more ill than our bodies.

We’re in desperate need of permission to take naps, eat ice cream, and serve frozen pizza for supper three nights in a row.

Some of us need permission to quit our jobs, and some of us need permission to step out in faith and start new ones.  We need permission to say things like, I’m not okay, I need help, and I feel alone in this.

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

In truth, Jennifer Dukes Lee caught my attention in the pages prior to giving me permission to be where I am.  She 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 be traveling and sharing hope with the world in a face-to-face way, 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.

You need permission to be where you are with your dreams too.

Today, I give you permission to dream the great dream you’ve been afraid to speak aloud.  I give you permission to name it and cast vision and pray about it.  But I also give you permission to let it marinate, germinate, and begin slowly.

Great dreams are rarely birthed overnight.

Perhaps your dream is smoldering like a fire that started hot but quickly burned down to smoky embers.  I give you permission to be here in 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.

Today, I give you permission to dream the great dream you’ve been afraid to speak aloud. But I also give you permission to let it marinate, germinate, and begin slowly. #dreams Click To Tweet

Permission to be Where We Are in Our Faith

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 practical 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 sometimes, I 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, 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 tastes 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 to Help You Embrace the Present

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 Two Books are Free on Kindle Unlimited as eBooks and Also Available 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 in eBook form for free on the Kindle Unlimited Plan or for 12.99 in print right here.  (You can sign up for a free three-month Kindle Unlimited trial if you are not a member.) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!

Calling All Moms and Daughters!

Additionally, my 12-year-old daughter, Bekah, and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book to help mothers and daughters grow closer together while connecting with God.  Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a shared journaling section.  Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by this book!  You can find this book in eBook form for free on the Kindle Unlimited Plan or buy a print copy for 11.99 right here.