Grace Filled Cottage

Lately, I have been thinking about how much pressure there is in the world to fit into a neat little package.

It can feel like society is always telling us what we should look like, how we should dress, how in shape we should be, what our eyebrows should look like, how talented we should be, how many followers we should have, and whether our life looks exciting enough. There is pressure to have the best wardrobe, the prettiest pictures, the fanciest vacations, and a life that looks perfectly put together.

Now, I do appreciate it when women take the time to look nice. I like to feel put together too. But I am learning that I want to do that in my own way, not to keep up with everyone else.

I like that I love old brooches and vintage-looking jewelry. I like my bob hairstyle. I have even been letting my gray hair grow in. I will be honest, I am not sure I have fully embraced the gray yet, but I am getting there. I finally got tired of sitting in a salon every two or three weeks for root touch-ups. There was something freeing about saying, “Maybe I do not have to keep chasing that anymore.”

The older I get, the more I am learning that there is freedom in not beating to everyone else’s drum.

I love simple things. I love baking bread. I love going outside to water my flowers and watching them bloom. I love seeing hummingbirds come to my window, and I still get so excited every time. I love my goose Hazel, who is not a real goose, but a plastic goose who sits on my porch and has many outfits. I love saying “toodaloo” when I say goodbye. I love old timepieces, old 80s and 90s shows, Anne of Green Gables, and Little House on the Prairie.

I love spending time with my family. There is something so special about the everyday moments we share together, whether it is sitting around talking, laughing over something simple, eating a meal, or just being in the same room. Family is one of those gifts that becomes more precious to me as I get older.

And being a grandma has brought such a sweet excitement to my life. It is a joy that is hard to fully explain. There is something so tender and wonderful about seeing life through the eyes of a grandchild. It makes the little things feel new again. It reminds me to slow down, notice the simple joys, and thank God for the blessing of generations, family, and love. Ms. Merritt is so precious.

I also enjoy watching YouTube, especially homemaking, cooking, and crafting channels. I love jazz and soft, soothing music from the 40s and 50s. These are the little things that make me smile and make me who I am. They may not be impressive to the world, but they are part of the life God has placed before me and in me.

More than anything, my walk with Jesus is stronger than ever. I am not ashamed of Him. I pray that all people will come to know Him and experience the peace, forgiveness, and hope that only He can give.

Psalm 139:14 reminds us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. God did not create us by accident. He made us carefully, with purpose, and with love. That does not mean we are finished products. I know I am still growing. I still have things to learn. I still have places in my heart that need to become softer. I still have thoughts that need to be renewed. I still make mistakes.

But I also know this: in Christ, I am forgiven.

There is freedom in knowing that I do not have to be perfect to be loved by God. I do not need perfect skin, a perfect body, a perfect house, or a perfect life. I can bring my whole self before the Lord and trust that He is still working in me.

I am not really big on the phrase “be your authentic self” because I do not want to be led solely by whatever I feel in the moment. What I do want is to become the person God is creating me to be. That is an everyday, all-day process. Some days it feels joyful, and some days it feels stretching. But it is good.

My prayer is that women and men would stop feeling like they have to copy everyone else to have value. I pray we would stop comparing our homes, bodies, talents, families, clothes, and lives to someone else’s highlight reel. I pray we would learn to rest in the truth that God made us with care and that He is still shaping us with purpose.

There is a quiet kind of beauty in becoming more tender, more grateful, more content, and more open to what God has for us.

I do not want to spend my life trying to fit into a package someone else created.

I want to live faithfully in the life God has given me.

With my gray hair growing in, my vintage jewelry, my flowers, my bread, my family, the joy of being a grandma, my hummingbirds, my porch goose Hazel, my old shows, my soft music, and my heart learning to follow Jesus more closely, I can honestly say this:

I am good with where I am.

And more importantly, I am thankful for where God is leading me.

Blessings,

Michelle