Though I no longer watch her videos, I’m often reminded of the encouraging words an exercise instructor offered to her class (and to those of us watching via DVD). I have since taken what I’ve learned from her class and developed my own sessions with my own music selections, but I can still hear her assuring voice. It is part of her job to be encouraging and to keep her students motivated with supportive comments, especially when some of the movements and paces are challenging. And I’ll admit, it’s effective. Maybe a little over-the-top sometimes, but effective. Though it has been quite a while since I watched this video, there is one phrase I recall that continues to be helpful: No matter what you do, remember there are no mistakes.
The instructor’s intention here is to express that even if we do not or cannot perform the exact movement she is doing, that as long as we are still trying, as long as we are moving to the beat in some way, as long as we are working toward our goal, that’s enough. To take a small step instead of making a high kick, to move arms below the heart instead of above, to walk in place instead of jog, that’s enough. It’s ‘permission’ to do the best we can with what we have and who we are while still trying to move forward, become stronger, and meet our objective.
That ‘permission’ feels a little like grace to me. The grace and space I need to give myself sometimes when plans aren’t working out as I had hoped, when my expectations are far from met, or when I am caught in frustrating situations which are out of my control. It’s ‘permission’ to accept who I am in the moment, to seek the graces of patience, strength, and wisdom, and to take the time to find God in what is happening around me. It’s not so much a lack of making mistakes—we will continue to do that—but to be enough with doing the best we can to move forward in faith and to invite the encouraging voice of the Lord to work in us when the movements and the paces of our lives become especially challenging.
The Lord does not expect us to be perfect or to get every step right, but as long as we are focused on Him, as long as we are prayerfully moving on our path in trust, as long as we commit ourselves to living a life in Christ, that’s enough.
Journeying to Grace 