Making Space For Mistakes
By Lauren Stein, Session Elder
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
One of my favorite children’s TV programs is The Magic School Bus. If you aren’t familiar with it, the series chronicles the adventures of Miss Frizzle’s science class as they explore the world at an often microscopic level. As they go on incredible field trips, Miss Frizzle often reminds them to “take chances, make mistakes, and get messy.”
I often need Miss Frizzle’s advice in my own life. To be honest, I am most like her student Arnold. He is best known for his plea for this to be a “normal field trip” to which the rest of his class responds, “With the Frizz, no way!” Like Arnold, I often cling to what feels safe or what seems normal, but sometimes the Lord is prompting me to take a chance and trust Him in the midst of the messiness of life.
For most of my life, I have been terrified of making mistakes. In school, I hated missing an assignment or making a mistake on a test. When my perfectionism got the better of me, I could feel my throat tighten and my eyes water. I was in that space when I was invited into a community of Christian high school girls that lovingly called themselves “The Perfectionist Club.” We joked that we were a group of girls overcoming our perfectionism, perfectly. In reality, it was a community full of grace and love. We discipled each other by listening graciously and speaking biblical truths over each other.
One that we often came back to was 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. To this very day, it reminds me that I don’t need to be perfect. His grace covers me. In fact, when I am weak, He is most glorified. My shortcomings and struggles are opportunities for those around me to see how good, gracious, and loving my God is. I don’t need to be perfect because He has extended abundant and amazing grace to me.
And for that very reason, I can have space in my life for other people’s messiness. No matter where I am or who I am with, because of the grace that I have received, I can extend that to my students, colleagues, student teachers, family, and friends. In whatever space we are in, as Christians, we need to be the kind of community that holds space for people to make mistakes, take chances, and get messy. As we invest and disciple people in the midst of their messiness, we will have the honor of seeing them grow from their experiences and into people who are becoming more and more like Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace. Thank You for seeing us in our mess and loving us anyways. I pray that my shortcomings and my struggles would bring glory to You. Help me to make space and extend grace to those around me. Make me aware of where You are at work in the world and how I can join You in Your Kingdom work. Amen.
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