Being Ish

Have you been there? That embarrassing moment when you realize you just goofed again – and that it’s more characteristic of you than not? Like that time you:

locked your keys in the car,
left the cap off your gas tank,
went to the meeting at the wrong time,
forgot to pack your kid a snack,
went to your doctor appointment on the wrong day,
left the forgotten load of laundry in the washer for days, or
discovered (bright pink) toenail clipping on the stair ledge as you entertained new friends.

Everyone has Ish moments, but there are those of us who are Ish Girls, through and through. We struggle with being on time, procrastinating until the last minute, and staying on top of our busy schedules. We are easily distracted, have trouble with details, and detest the nitty gritty of any project, and struggle to follow through on things we’ve started.

But we Ish Girls,

we are also FUN + SPONTANEOUS + ADVENTUROUS!

We. . .

adore people

love a good party

never meet anyone who doesn’t have friend potential.

We’re big picture girls, with vision and creativity and grand ideas. We are loyal and loving and well-intentioned and impractical.

We have good hearts and we’re full of empathy.

And we mess up a lot more than we’d like.

The Fall Out

Most of the time, our missteps only affect ourselves, and maybe the members of our inner circle who understand our quirks. Easily forgiven by loved ones and self, they are often funny and give us a good story to tell. (Seriously people – Pink. Toenail. Clippings.)

But then, there are those horrifying Ish moments, when you’ve forgotten to pay a bill, missed someone’s birthday, neglected to put money in your kid’s lunch account, or set the kitchen on fire because it slipped your mind that you were boiling a chicken.

The kind of moments that have very real, painful consequences not only for you, but others. Stories that will never be told for a good laugh, stories that cause rifts and hurt feelings and expensive damage.

These can be moments of graceless guilt;

events that are very difficult to forgive and move on, to let go of the shame of your mess-up.

This is a place for living in grace, even when it’s hard.

Having it for yourself and liberally pouring it out on others.

A space to choose laughing at yourself instead of stewing in humiliation and embarrassment.

It’s a place to share your Ish moments, laugh (or cry!) about them, then step into forgiveness. And maybe by taking that first step, we move closer to being the women we are called to be. Because while I like being spontaneous, creative, visionary, and full of good ideas … . . . I really despise being late, disappointing friends, and feeling stressed out by deadlines. Oh, and also trying to get the sour smell out of forgotten laundry. I love the fun parts of being Ish, but I’m desperate for God to refine the hard parts out of me! I’m an Ish Girl in progress, and sometimes my flake outs are funny, sometimes not. How about you? Are you thoroughly Ish? Or just have your Ish moments? Join the conversation!

Being Ish

But we Ish Girls,

The Fall Out

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