On the Grace Days

     I woke up this morning thinking "How could it already be August? And why, whyyyy does the first of the month have to fall on a Monday?"

     When I actually woke up and realized there are 31 days in July, I felt I'd been given an extra day. So while today isn't February 29th, it's giving me the space I need to prepare for August.

     This is only my third July blog post, as you may have noticed. (No? Just me, I guess.)

     There has been a whole lot going on in my life, and I am growing as a person while having awesome summer-before-college experiences. And that is what counts. If I haven't found time to write online, maybe I just don't care as much as I used to.

     I'm giving myself grace by not worrying about a posting schedule. I'm giving myself grace by living life to the full instead.

     These are the days of grace.
These days are the full-of-hope, full-of-wonder, moving-away-soon, need-to-pack times. Yes, college is on the horizon, but all I want to do is hug my succulent Josephine and hear "It's going to be okay."

This is Josephine, by the way. She prefers "Jo."

     "Are you ready for college?" the world is asking me.

     "Ready as I'll ever be. Let's go!"

     "Are you nervous?" they ask with concern written in their brows.

     "Just excited," I reply with a smile and a nod.

     Because I know there will be tears. I know I'll miss my friends back home and the ones going off to their own college experiences. I know that those family pictures of the four of us will be much more precious to me when I'm in a cold dorm room.

     I know that I'm going to have a breakdown eventually. In Brazil, knowing I was going to cry helped me when the time came.

     So I'm giving myself grace. I'm going to let myself cry. I'm going to keep preparing the best I know how. I'm going to spend as much time getting tacos with my friends as I possibly can.

     And God will take care of the rest. Because all this grace? It comes from Him.

~Madeline