There is a strange thing about people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are always becoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which means we are also always unfinished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This can be uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We like finished things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finished houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finished books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finished answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finished people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But people don’t work that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone can be kind today and cruel tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone can fail badly and then become trustworthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone can spend years running from themselves and eventually turn around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The person you are meeting may not be the person they were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They may not yet be the person they will become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is where grace enters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace is not pretending nothing happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is leaving room for something to happen next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone hurts you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are responsible for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They apologize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You are allowed to decide what happens after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe trust returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe it doesn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace does not demand either answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It simply refuses to declare the story finished before the person is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This applies inward too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will say things you wish you hadn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will make choices that make perfect sense at the time and terrible sense later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will discover that some of your old maps were wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You may become embarrassed by versions of yourself you once defended fiercely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That means you moved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You are allowed to become someone who knows better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a particular cruelty in believing you must remain loyal to every mistake you’ve ever made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can outgrow yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can apologize to people you hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can forgive people you cannot trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can leave places that shaped you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can learn new ways of holding the same hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The past still happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace does not rewrite it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It simply says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is not necessarily the end.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps this is why children are so interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They are obviously unfinished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody looks at a four-year-old and says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This person should already have everything figured out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We understand that they are becoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Somewhere along the way, we become less generous with adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We start expecting completion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps we should remember that everyone is still under construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some scaffolding is simply better hidden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fancy Dust is technically unfinished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been under construction since at least 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody knows what the final version will look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This seems healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe grace is not a reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe it is simply the space required for change to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A little room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A little time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A chance to try again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not infinite chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not freedom from consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just enough space to become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And perhaps that is something worth giving ourselves\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n and, when it is safe,<\/p>\n\n\n\n one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There is a strange thing about people. We are always becoming. Which means we are also always unfinished. This can be uncomfortable. We like finished things. Finished houses. Finished books. Finished answers. Finished people. But people don’t work that way. Someone can be kind today and cruel tomorrow. Someone can fail badly and then become […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n