Calm
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
- Jesus of Nazareth
This is one of those passages that keeps coming to mind. Possibly because that kind of pace, that measure of grace is so uncommon.
I mean, come on…
Learn the unforced rhythms of grace?
Who doesn’t want that?
Whose heart doesn’t stir at just the thought of it?
Who even believes that it is possible anymore?
Our Client Experience Coordinator was meeting with one of our clients. She was going to him for advice and assistance on an event she was helping to coordinate. She felt honored to get some time with him.
He is a very busy guy running a large company with dozens of employees. He is also in an industry where the events around Hurricane Harvey are having a significant impact.
- But he is also a man who really knows who he is.
- He knows, coming out of a recent Lifeplan, his God-intended purpose.
- He and his wife are very closely aligned and on the same page.
- The mature and effective leadership team he oversees is managing the company well.
- He would say that his company knows where it is going, how it will get there, and what role he is supposed to play.
As a result of all that, however, he is finding the essential margin to make his highest contribution as a leader, husband, father, and community leader.
Back to their meeting. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but her experience with many leaders prior to joining our team has taught her that they are often harried, overwhelmed, impatient, and lacking focus. Even though she had heard pretty amazing things about this client, her past experience with executive leaders made her a little dubious.
She called me afterwards and was clearly affected by the meeting. She said he was…
Calm
Focused
Present
Thoughtful
Patient
Insightful
And the word that kept washing over her was “grace." She even quoted that verse above about how he was clearly experiencing the "unforced rhythms of grace." As a result, she experienced the same.
She got to experience calm water…a port in the storm.
Interesting how she went seeking information, guidance, and support. She got plenty of that. But the real impact of the meeting was the obvious margin and grace the leader was operating under.
The real value of the man was not what he knew or offered, but who he was.
How beautiful.
How uncommon.
How attractive.
How completely available.
Consider
- What came to mind as you read about this leader?
- Do you know any leaders that operate with that kind of grace, clarity, and margin?
- What is standing in the way of you experiencing the unforced rhythms of grace?
- What needs to change so that people are more affected by who you are than what you know or the position you hold?