You won't believe what I did last week...

Give Yourself Grace

[4 minute read]

Y'all literally won't believe what I did last Sunday... I think it'll give you a good laugh and make you realize we are all in this together. 

Cue my first Sunday back since returning to Spain. Still jet-lagged but, morale was high. 

I set my alarm on Saturday night for church the next morning despite tossing and turning well-into 3am. I am usually not one that has trouble going to sleep but, this particular night, I couldn't say the same. 

Sunday I woke up (a tad late) for church but, I knew I'd be so happy I went. My New Year was full of loootttsss of emotions so, I knew a church service would fill me with God's truths and do my heart a lot of good. As per usual! 

Being that I woke up a little too late - public transit was off the table. Sooo, a cab it was! The 8 euro ride was worth it. God was worth it!! If I can take a cab to go do something fun- surely, I can pay for one to go to church. 

Okay... still with me!?

Out the door in plenty of time and the cab drops me to the church with five minutes to spare. (Even more impressive considering how quickly I managed to get myself ready.)

When I get out of the cab to what used to be where church was held - I notice no people around.

I mean, I know there are only five minutes to spare but, surely 2025 hasn't convinced Spaniards suddenly to be on time to everything. If you've ever been to a European country-- you know what I mean!! 

So, I decide to make a loop around the building just to ensure that over my break while at home, I didn't somehow confuse where I was supposed to be going. 

No greeters. No fellow-church goers. Just a court next door full of children playing a soccer match and enthusiastic parents. 

Unless they were doing a service court-side... I was in the wrong place. 

So... what does one do when they have this realization? Go to the internet. 

Sure enough - at some point between when I left for break and when I got back - the church had completely moved locations. 

This felt almost as good as the time I walked into a church service an hour late because of Daylight Savings Time and we didn't even realize it til the end. We just thought, "Gah, they really got through the songs quick today!"

And, to add to the doozy of Sunday -- the new location was closer to my house than where I was now. There there was no way I would make it all the way back to the new church location on time (even with the help of a cab, again!)

Danggit!! 

But, wait! It gets better... the night before... I looked up the services to confirm the times and I noticed the address was different.

But, when I mapped it, I didn't happen to pay close attention and just assumed it was where the church staff offices were located and not where the actual service was held. Surely. 

WHOOPS. Here in lies where I went wrong. It gave me a good chuckle.

Soooo... What now? Do I find a local brunch spot? Go back to bed? Reach out to a friend to grab coffee? Scream and hope no one notices me?!

I kid you not... My immediate reaction was, "Welcome to life! Sometimes we cab to a location that is no longer holding a church service, apparently. No worries!"

WOAH - hello, where is Karsyn and what have you done with her!? Please bring her back soon. 

Annndd... insert the coaching tools I use and why they are so powerful. 

Normally, I would've been frustrated for not paying closer attention and investigating further, annoyed at myself for wasting the money, feeling perplexed. I lost money, I lost time, and I lost the opportunity of making it to the service I wanted to go to. 

I could've easily dwelled on all of that. But, I quickly realized THAT was a bigger waste of time and energy. 

I knew there was a later service and it would be just as easy to catch that. 

Maybe my cab driver needed the extra tip I left for his friendliness.

Maybe I needed to be reminded of the lesson of giving ourselves grace.

Maybe I just needed something to be humbled by and to remind myself that as planned out as I like to be... I am still human. 

An excellent opportunity for me to put the skills I teach about often into practice! 

Plus! To remind myself that usually people don't just update a change of location for their office buildings. Pay close attention when something looks different! 

I could truly see how far I have come implementing these coaching tools that I was able to just smile and laugh at myself. I knew it would make for a good story later! 

Take this as your own reminder to give yourself grace. We all make silly mistakes. Or, big ones even. To realize that even when we find ourselves in the wrong place sometimes... We don't have to stay there. We can laugh, shake it off, and realize that the world isn't ending. That the way we choose to think about our life and the way we show up to it - makes allll the difference. 

How you choose to look at every situation matters. The experiences we face in life often happen to be our biggest teachers. 

Have an amazing weekend!

Here's to hoping I can make it to the right place next Sunday  --

Love to each of you,

Karsyn