God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. – Genesis 1:31 (NRSVUE)
Too often we acknowledge the reality of God’s grace but fail to be gracious to ourselves. We judge ourselves harshly against the measuring sticks of success that the world gives us. Meta Herrick Carlson begins her poem of self blessing the recognition of how easily we fall into this trap:
There is always more to do.
Success and striving
have no out of office sign
regret and pressure
irritate Sabbath’s
gentle call like a nervous twitch.
She goes on to recall that it is God’s judgment that is the first and last word on our lives. God’s judgment is that all that God has made is good and very good. It is a reminder that we are already accepted and loved by God. We need not be perfect for that; it is the amazing reality of God’s love. This means that we need not be perfect each and every day, as much as we may tell ourselves that we do. To say “Good enough is good enough” is to be gracious with ourselves.
Can we look at ourselves with anything close to the grace with which God sees us? Probably not. The messaging we get everywhere pushes us in the other direction: expect more from ourselves, be at our best, live our best life. It is hard to remember that God loves this life of ours; in fact loves it enough to redeem it for eternity. God sees us and sees that we are indeed very good. Yet a function of Sabbath time is to stop ourselves from hearing those messages that we need to be more and instead hear God’s message of love and grace. In that slowing down and letting good enough be good enough we can hear God’s view of our lives. Hearing it again and again we can begin to believe it and practice it on ourselves.
This devotion is inspired by Meta Herrick Carlson’s book Ordinary Blessings: Prayers, Poems, and Meditation for Everyday Life. https://www.metaherrickcarlson.com/blog/ordinary-blessings