Be gentle with yourself.

Purchase this beautiful print here!

I stumbled across this beautiful print on Etsy somewhat recently, and the words on it have been an incredible balm for my soul.

I've found it's easy to be hard on yourself when you're in a season of growing.  For me, that's how I've seen these past several months.  I grieve, and I grow.  Some days, I feel really good with the progress I've made.  I look back at where I was even a few months ago, and I marvel that a persons heart can shift and change so much in such a short amount of time.

Then there are the days when I feel like I should be further along.  I get angry that I still have days that I spend in bed, crying and wondering why we lost our son.  I feel frustrated with myself for going through the stages of grief over and over again.  I wonder why I'm so stressed and sad still, even though it's not like losing a child is a little thing.  I fail to remember that in the grand scheme of things, only 210 days have passed since we lost our baby.

Each time I get frustrated that I'm still in this specific stage of grief, I've been trying to come back to this phrase.  If I'm going to have grace for everyone around me, I have to start with myself.  I have to not judge myself and think negatively.  I need to remember that I am doing the best I can.  I have to remind myself that my life has been permanently changed since Emmett came into my life, and left so unexpectedly.

Whatever you're going through, wherever you're at, if you're struggling with something, or just having a rough day - remember these words.  Write them on your arm, repeat them all day long.  This life isn't easy.  This world is tiresome, and while there is so much good in it, we need to remember to be gentle with ourselves, to be kind.  We cannot expect ourselves to be kind to others, or show them grace, if we can't even do it for ourselves.