How to Get Unstuck with Grace and Patience
Today, I am honored to share with you a treasured friend with a great big heart. She loves well and authentically. And her wisdom … wow! Her name is Deb Wolf and she is the Blessing Counter. She blogs over at Counting My Blessings and ministers not only to my heart, but to the hearts of many. She understands grief because she has lived it. But with Christ as her cornerstone, she walked through it and didn’t let it keep her stuck. Today, as part of The Something Better Series, she shares how, with grace and patience, we can get unstuck.
It was a long hard few years.
It seemed like one family crisis piled up on another. After all, our friends and family started calling us The High Maintenance Prayer People.
Month after month – loss, illness, death, and a micro-preemie grandchild . . . and those are just the big things.
We were exhausted but so very thankful. God had walked us through day after day with faith and peace…
With the exception of one thing.
One thing I just couldn’t give up. One thing hurt too bad. One thing was hard to accept. One thing made it hard to move forward.
I was stuck in grief over what was supposed to be, how I’d pictured that time in my life.
Maybe you can relate.
A divorce you didn’t want.
A rebellious child that broke your heart.
A parent who walked away.
A sudden death that rocked your sense of security.
And you’re stuck in that place where you’re broken heart wakes you up in the morning and wrestles you to sleep at night.
Life is hard.
I want to give you two words to help.
Grace & Patience
Grace because your broken heart is not a surprise to God. He knows. He is with you. He’s walked the path you’re on.
Rejection – But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation. Luke 17:25
Rebellion – All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people. But they follow their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes. Isaiah 65:2
Death – Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” John 11:36
Give you broken heart to Jesus. Trust Him.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and He saves those whose spirits have been crushed. Psalm 34:18
Live one moment at a time.
You will not become unstuck overnight. I would love to say I prayed and everything was fine . . . that I felt better and went on with my life. But you wouldn’t believe me anyway.
Healing takes time.
I have a scar on my hand. Three years ago, when our Cavapoo, Sadie, was a puppy she caught me with one of her sharp little fangs in a ferocious game of keep away. It was a deeper puncture wound, so it didn’t heal fast. The top would heal over, but it needed to heal from the inside . . . so it seemed like weeks or longer before it settled into a scar.
There is something unique about this particular scar though . . . occasionally it becomes a bump and it annoys me. I’ll pick at it or catch on something while I’m working and open it right up again.
You’d think that would stop after three years wouldn’t you?
Truthfully, it’s a good reminder for me.
Because grief and pain are like that. After a while, the overwhelming intense pain heals over and becomes a scar. But deep wounds can’t heal from the outside in. They have to heal from the inside and that takes time.
And even then . . . once in a while, the scar will become a bump and that old wound may open up a little and hurt again.
Getting unstuck takes time. #grace #patience #getunstuck #somethingbetterseries #hope @blessingcounter Share on X
Be Patient!
Not only does the Lord love you, but He says,
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]” Matthew 11:28 (AMPC)
Run back to grace for the salve you need as often as necessary. You will not be judged or turned away.
You are loved.
You.
No matter how you feel or how much it hurts.
Run back to grace.
Be patient.
It will get better. I promise. You will heal. Sure you’ll have a scar, but that’s okay . . . it will be a reminder of God’s amazing grace and just how far He’s brought you.
No matter where you are stuck, run back to grace. #getunstuck #somethingbetterseries #hope @blessingcounter Share on X
Deb Wolf is a CLASS trained speaker and writer who writes about the important connection between faith and life at Counting My Blessings. She loves babies, coffee, and chocolate in that order. And believes every day should be celebrated as a gift and filled with lots of laughter. (Join her on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.)
The Something Better Series
Come back next week as Terri Fullerton shares her story. She is an amazing woman who grew up in the shadows of domestic abuse, but with Christ, stepped up and out toward her something better. Because of this, her story gives hope, inspires, and reminds us that with Christ reaching for us, we are never stuck.
Week
1 – What is Your Something Better?
2 – Getting Unstuck with Grace and Patience
3 – Leaving the Lies of Shame Behind
4 – When Your Something Better Is the Thing You Fear the Most
5 – Choosing Joy When Everything Falls Apart
6 – When Forgiving Yourself Isn’t Easy
By the way, don’t forget to come back Monday for #MomentsofHope! My heart skips a little beat each time I open that page and see the hope of Jesus splattered everywhere! ?
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To make changes in our life, we have to make intentional choices to move from where we are to where we want to be. Consistently filling our lives with positive life-giving content is one such step in the right direction. I’d like to help you with those steps and lead you toward the life you were designed to live! After subscribing, you’ll get access to my resource-filled Library of Hope, so watch for the password to unlock that private page!
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Lori, Thank you so much for allowing me to share my story. You are a huge blessing to me. I love the new link party and I’m so excited about this new series. Thank you, my dear friend! You are a blessing to me.
Oh, goodness, Deb! Thank YOU! I adore you! ♥
I’ll remember to run for His grace and have patience with myself. Thanks for the inspiration, Deb!
Blessings!
I need His grace when I lose patience with myself. I can be my worst critic and just the mere suggestion that I should be “fine” can have me beating myself up again. So, I run back to grace again and again . . . so thankful that Jesus will never turn me away. Thanks for your faithful encouragement, Martha!
Can I just interject with a great big, ME TOO!? Running back to grace again and again! 🙂
Interesting. I’ve been pondering quite a bit lately about being stuck and this is so good. You are so right, it takes time to heal. That can be so hard to remember when you become fixated on just getting out of where you are. His grace is certainly sufficient. We just have to lean more deeply into it. Thanks Deb (and Lori)!
I’m so glad you shared that, Jason. I always think of other people encouraging us to move on, but often I want to move on because I just don’t want to feel like this anymore. Leaning in to His grace . . . where I have to stay each day! Blessings!
Thanks, Jason, for visiting! Deb has such wonderful counsel. It does take time to heal, but just as we hurry everything in our lives these days, we expect our healing to be immediate. But patience and grace will get us there!
As always, Deb, your words bless me! As an RN, I especially appreciate your thoughts on healing: “deep wounds can’t heal from the outside in. They have to heal from the inside and that takes time.” So true, and we all have broken places! Blessings to you!
Thank you, Sandra. You’re right, everyone has wounds in various stages of healing. And then those scars that remind us of grace. Many blessings to you as well!
Be patient…that truly is the cornerstone of all the others. Great reminders during any season of turmoil.
Michelle,
Patience – that thing with which we are just so terrible! And we seem to be getting worse. We expect everything to happen immediately and our frustration mounts quickly. How important it is, though. I’m praying we all grow in this area!!
Blessings and smiles,
Lori
I’m focusing on patience during the month of June. I have a feeling there will be lots to learn and apply. You’re right, we’re getting shorter on patience and more and more things happen in warp-speed. Joining you in praying to grow in patience with myself and with others.
Deb, whenever I hear a little bit more of your story, I’m amazed at the grace of God at work in a beautiful life! Thanks for sharing your disappointment here, and then the miraculous way that God worked — not by erasing the past or changing your circumstances, but by changing YOU!
Lori, this is a wonderful series! Looking forward to next week!
Thank you, Michele. Things that were intended for evil God has graciously turned to good. God’s power has been miraculous. I never believed I’d get through those hard days let alone come out stronger. His grace is amazing and I’ve learned to lean in close every day! Blessings to you!
“Run back to grace.” Beautiful, Deb. We do seem to have a way of walking ahead and leaving behind the grace that calms our hearts, don’t we? Our life was scarred many years ago, and I know the feeling of being mentally stuck in, “what would life have looked like if X hadn’t have happened?”. Comforting reminder today that God walked through it with us, and He knew. And knows. And heals. Thank you, Deb. And thanks for sharing Deb with us, Lori. ((xoxo))
I’m sorry, Brenda! You get it. You know the hard hurts and the need for grace and patience. I’ve done a few “what ifs” myself. But then I have to stop and run back to grace and be patient with myself once again. Many blessings!
Perfectly timed. “Patience” is something that keeps coming up in my heart as I work through disappointments. Thank you for the encouragement to “run back to grace.” Blessings to you.
I hope you’ll join me in June at Counting My Blessings, Karen. I’m spending the month focused on patience and I’m a little nervous about it. I’m better than I used to be but I still have a very long way to go. Blessings and hugs!
Whenever I read Deb’s words I feel the need to soak them up like a sponge because they are so filled with truth! I love that whenever we feel stuck we can run back to grace. The scars are reminders of how far he’s brought us. So good!
Oh, Valerie, thank you! It took me too long to get unstuck from things like fear and “what ifs.” I’m just thankful for the ways God has proven Himself to me through life. His grace is that sufficient blessing that has changed me and I’m so thankful. Many blessings my dear friend!
Thank you for this encouragement, Deb. It’s so true that deep wounds take time and have to heal from the inside out. I need to remember this – “Run back to grace for the salve you need as often as necessary. You will not be judged. You will never be turned away.” God is so very gracious towards us, isn’t He? Blessings and hugs to you!
Thank you, Trudy. Knowing He will never turn me away, that I can always count on His grace, mercy, and love . . . that helps me be unstuck! Blessings to you!
There is such wisdom in your words here: “Run back to grace for the salve you need as often as necessary.” They’re a beautiful reminder of how we find help to cope with life’s deep wounds and where our deepest healing comes from. Amen to them! It’s proven true in my experience. Our scars are evidence of the wounding we receive, and they can also become beautiful trophies of grace in life’s hard places if we let Jesus deal with them. As we allow Him to shine His light, love and grace into every dark and hurting space, He initiates all the healing we need. Thank you for your hard-wrought words of encouragement, Deb. I’m blessed to be Lori’s neighbour for the #letusgrow link up today and have read and been refreshed by them. God bless you!
Thank you, Joy! I’m so glad this blessed you! I continue to run back to grace! I run back to Jesus. He is the only One who heals my brokenness. And the blessing is He uses it and uses me in spite of it, too!
This was such a beautiful post. This here was so good > “Run back to grace for the salve you need as often as necessary.” I am so grateful our God understands that our wounds may need tending more than once. Thank you for sharing this encouraging post! Blessings!
Me too, Joanne! I run back for His healing salve often. Blessings to you as well!!
Great post- grace and patience are important. I often find it easier to show them to others than to myself. I’m grateful that God always shows grace and patience towards us, that he understands and that he can use even our wounds and our scars to display his love to us and to others.
This touched me on so many levels…either I’ve been there or my daughter is going through it…brought me to tears…very moving…Thank you!
Run Back To Grace – I love this! Thank you for this beautiful reminder. I’ve been dealing with the pain from a situation for almost 10 years and if it were not for the grace of God I can’t even imagine what my life would be like. Thanks, Lori for linking up with Thankful Thursdays.
This is so good. Thank you for allowing Deb to share her heart here. I will remember to run back to grace. Blessings!
So glad Deb shared this on Let’s Get Real Friday. Beautiful. God is so good.
Thank you for your story, Deb. Scars mark a time of struggle in our lives but also the gift of survival.
Grace is such a beautiful thing and enables us to wait and patience. Thank you Debi for these beautiful words. Anything with grace as the topic always catches my eye. It has helped me so much.
Deb, your words are a sweet balm! I keep reading, over and over. We all have those hurts and regrets, and we doubt God’s ability to heal and “restore what the locust has eaten” but He does, in His time. Thankful for this encouragment today to “run back to the salve you need AS OFTEN as you need, because healing takes time.