The Grace to Do.
Grace…
From the New Oxford American Dictionary...
1. Simple elegance or refinement of movement : she moved through the water with effortless grace.
2. courteous goodwill : at least he has the grace to admit his debt to her.
3. ( graces) an attractively polite manner of behaving : she has all the social graces.
From a Christian point of view…
1. the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.
2. a divinely given talent or blessing : the graces of the Holy Spirit.
3. the condition or fact of being favored by someone : he fell from grace because of drug use at the Olympics.
I was having a conversation with Hope Allen today, sharing ideas, and exploring possibilities as we often do. After about an hour into the conversation we started talking about something that I had been thinking about for quite some time however; had never really articulated… Until now.
"that it is by His grace that we do the amazing things in this earth that we do, and with equal intensity it is without His grace that what we have done, or once did expires in the earth".
We started talking about the progressive nature of God, and specifically, how He transitions us from one point in our lives to the next. And by the power of the Holy Spirit that resonated in the conversation, He totally blessed me with the idea "that it is by His grace that we do the amazing things in this earth that we do, and with equal intensity it is without His grace that what we have done, or once did expires in the earth". I know that may be a little confusing BUT I am going to break this down (how I see it) in a way that hopefully empowers you and encourages you just as much if not more than it has me.
Everyday Work and Grace
Everyday I come in contact with people who are drumming through life doing what it is that they do. Some of these people are doing the work that they have been trained to do, and they are doing it exceedingly well, but absolutely loath the "work". There are some people who are doing the work that they are passionate about exceedingly well, BUT they loath the idea that they are doing it for other people with the controls, and limitation that doing work for others often inherits. What I find interesting about BOTH of these "types" of people is that if you have an intimate conversation with them about the "loathing" part of what they "do", about 99.9% of them share the fact that IF they could be doing something different they would, regardless of the fact that they have been trained to do it, they are doing it out of passion, OR the fact that they are doing it exceedingly well.
Transparency
"SO I struggled with why God would be causing me to loath the very thing that paid the bills and made a way…"
For the past 15 years (if not more… I am not doing exact math here…) I have worked in the capacity of a Designer at some level or another. Rather it be design direction, hands-on design, or design thinking. About 3 years ago, though I was doing the work that I was passionate about for so many years, I began to find myself deeply irritated by the nuances of the design profession. I began to loath revisions, limitations in design scopes, indecisive clients and un-realistic timelines (just to name a few). NOW, prior to the three years ago, I can clearly remember the grace that God had given me for the work. I was generally "cool hand steady" and I could handle any of the above nuances with absolute ease… The grace to do. If a client wanted 100 revisions (not literally… But a lot), I would say:
"Sure!!! Great! How can we make this design work to the capacity that you LOVE it???"
… Well, three years ago, I began to notice that simple revisions were like someone was driving a nail through my eyelids. Where at one point, 100 revisions were handled with ease and flexibility (grace), the idea of 4 - 5 revisions was dreadful. This not only effected my clients, it began to effect my passion for the art… It began to drain my passion for design.
Once it began to be unbearable, I began the process of scaling my design work back to a VERY selective level, and I would tell my friends, and colleagues that ultimately I would retire from design all together. The notion of this was scary as "all get out", seeing that design was at the core of everything that I did. From consulting to actually creating for my clients, everything revolved around design. SO I struggled with why God would be causing me to loath the very thing that paid the bills and made a way… However; what I also began to understand is that the grace that God had provisioned for me for well over 15 years in the field of design was running out.
The Small Voice
In the midst of all of this, I clearly remember hearing that familiar, small voice that God often speaks through, telling me that He was trying to transition me. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God was leading me from one level to the next level, and the FIRST thing He did was remove grace from where I was, and as I learned later, repositioned a renewed portion of grace at my next level… All that was left for ME to do, was to trust the small voice, and transition into my next phase of life. And from my past experiences with God, I just knew, that IF I could muster up enough faith, courage, I would be delivered to another level with a renewed grace to "do".
I knew that my next level was to transition into the soul of where my design perspective originated… Innovation. SO, I began to practice more in the role of innovation, and idea generation (which arguably interlaces with design thinking). As I began to hone in on what I had always felt was the minor component of how I worked (always valuing the "doing" over the "thinking"), I began to realize that the processes of creation are truly where my strengths rest. What's amazing is that God took over 15 years of my life and gave me a deeper insight into the design process through "doing" and "doing with grace"… So now, just 2 years later, as Co-founder, Chairman and Chief Innovation Officer at a company I "designed" with my colleagues called Kind Intelligence… I build WITH "grace".
God had to remove the grace from where I was, to get me fired up enough, irritated enough, BOTHERED enough, to move forward into where He wanted me to be. The next level.
Do Not Faint in the Process
"Move with courage and faith, and in your next role in this amazing experience called "life", you will have a renewed provision of grace..."
When God removes grace from you in a particular work… This is a sign that perhaps, just perhaps, it's time that you begin the process of asking Him, where has He placed your next provision of grace. This is NOT the time to faint… However; it is time for you to do a serious evaluation of what He has taught you in the season that you are in, and what are the things that you are supposed to be taking with you to your next level… The next season of your life. Move with courage and faith, and in your next role in this amazing experience called "life", you will have a renewed provision of grace. The Grace to Do.
Advice For Revolutionaries
1. When God removes His grace from you in a particular area of your life, He is not punishing you, He is simply, by the power of the Holy Spirit, causing you to take a close look at what you are doing for the purpose of transitional reflection.
2. If God removes grace from you in a particular area of your life, chances are that He is setting a new stage for you, at another level, with a renewed portion of "grace to do".
3. When you are feeling deeply weighted in the "work", BEYOND the normal stresses of the work, the "nuances", like … If you are getting "short" with clients or colleagues. If you are finding yourself having very little patience, this is a good sign that you are not working in grace.
4. Be encouraged. If you are in a place where there is no more grace, 9 times of of 10, God has already shown you where your grace resides. Have the faith and courage to transition to your next level… Where your grace is.


