Learning The Pace Of Grace For the Season You’re In

By Lawanda Martinez

Fall has a way of making change easier to notice. The days begin to get shorter, the evenings darker, the air gets cooler, sweaters begin replacing shorts and sandals, pumpkin spice starts making its familiar return, and warm soups and chili find their way back onto our tables. We recognize the change in season and naturally begin to adjust. But some of life’s most significant season changes don’t show up in the weather forecast. A baby is born. A child grows up or leaves for college. We get married or walk through a divorce. We return to school, begin a new career, retire, experience changes in our health, care for aging parents, or grieve someone
we love. Life changes—and each season carries different needs, responsibilities and rhythms. Yet sometimes we are still trying to live according to the rhythm of a season that has already changed. What if, just as we recognize the signs of a changing season outside, we learned to recognize when it’s time to adjust within our own lives?

I’ve had to learn this personally through several seasons of my own life. As a single mom raising four children while working full-time, my days had a very specific pace—getting everyone to school, working, squeezing my workout into a lunch break, picking up children, preparing meals, and making room for church and their activities in the evenings. When my children grew up and I became an empty nester, the pace changed. I could join the “5 A.M. club”—pray, exercise, have my power hour, get ready for work, and still have evenings available
to serve at church and in my community. Then medical retirement and changes in my health introduced another rhythm altogether. I no longer had to accomplish everything before 7 A.M., and my body now required something different from me: doctor appointments, movement when I’m able, getting outdoors, rest, recovery, and sometimes asking for help. A Saturday cleaning routine that once worked might now need to be spread across several days—and I’ve had to learn not to measure today’s capacity by yesterday’s pace. As a natural “get-it-done” woman, that has required grace. But I’ve also discovered a gift in this season: I don’t have to squeeze my time with Jesus into a morning prayer closet. I can meet with Him in my living room, my bedroom,
my office, my dining room—even while I’m resting and recovering. I’m learning that a different rhythm isn’t necessarily a lesser rhythm; sometimes it is simply the rhythm of grace for the season I’m in.

Jesus gives us a beautiful picture of this in Matthew 11:28–30. In The Message Bible, His invitation begins with people who are tired, worn out and burned out. He invites them to come to Him, get away with Him and recover their lives. Then He says, “Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.” I love the progression of that invitation because Jesus doesn’t simply offer us another strategy for getting more done; He invites us to come close enough to learn from Him. A rhythm is a repeated pattern of movement—a cadence or pace. And while many of us are familiar with grace as God’s undeserved favor, there is another facet of grace that is important here. The Greek word charis speaks of grace, favor, kindness and gift, while Webster’s 1828 also describes grace in terms of the favorable influence of God. Grace is not only something we receive; it is at work in our lives. Paul said, “yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). For our conversation, think of grace as God’s enabling help—the provision He gives us to live what He’s calling us to live. And that helps us understand the pace of grace. Sometimes grace enables us to rest; other times it enables us to rise, work, build, begin again, or do the hard thing in front of us. The pace of grace allows us to walk and work with Jesus in the season we’re actually in.

Once we understand that grace enables us for what God is calling us to live, the next question becomes: What does this season actually require of me? The pace of grace does not always mean slowing down. Some seasons call us to rest, wait, heal, grieve, create space or simply give ourselves time. Others require greater intentionality—to exercise, train, return to school, build something new, pursue a dream, establish structure or finally begin what we have  been putting off. I experienced that kind of pace when I returned to school. My educational journey included starts and stops and ultimately took 28 years to complete my associate and bachelor’s degrees. There were seasons when I had to let my family know that my availability was going to change. I might not always be available to babysit or do everything I normally did because I had made a commitment that required study, homework and protected time. I needed their grace while I became intentional about the goal in front of me. That season required a different pace, and it wasn’t a bad one simply because it required more structure and discipline. It may be worth considering: What has changed relationally, physically, professionally or spiritually? What am I forcing because it belonged to a previous season? What might God be asking me to do differently now? Recognizing the season we’re actually in—not simply the one we wish we were in isn’t resignation; it gives us the opportunity to discern the pace of grace for where we are today.

Once we recognize the season, we can begin aligning our lives with it. In the ministry I founded, Café GoodWord, one of the practical tools I teach is taking an honest look at what’s on our plate. Using the acrostic P.L.A.T.E.—Pray. Look. Align. Time Block. Enjoy.— gives us a simple way to do that. And here’s what that looks like: P is for Pray. We begin with God because He is the One we are learning from. Before we start rearranging our lives or deciding what needs to change, we bring our plate before Him and ask Him to help us recognize what this season requires. Look honestly at what this season holds—your relationships, responsibilities, health, work, rest and dreams. Align those things with what God is asking of you now. Time Block what matters by giving it “protected space” on your calendar rather than simply hoping you will find time for it. Time blocking is more than trying to manage every minute; it helps us intentionally make room for what matters while also leaving margin, open space that is not already spoken for. That space gives us room when something takes longer than expected, plans change, someone needs us, or life simply happens. It can also leave room for God, rest and the unexpected without making every interruption feel like it has ruined the day. And Enjoy because we don’t want to become so focused on managing life, accomplishing tasks or preparing for the next season that we miss God and the life He has given us today. Our calendars can help reveal our rhythms, so look at your day, week and month, and periodically step back to consider the quarter and year. Where does your time need to increase? Where does it need to decrease? What needs to move, begin or be released? Does the rhythm reflected on your calendar match the season you’re in? Notice what you may be forcing and make the adjustments this season requires.

Just as we wouldn’t insist on wearing sandals when the season calls for a sweater, we don’t have to keep forcing a rhythm that belonged to another season. Recognizing the season we’re actually in—not simply the one we wish we were in—doesn’t mean we have stopped believing, dreaming or preparing for what’s next. It gives us permission to receive God’s grace for where we are today. Our plates hold more than tasks; they hold people we love, relationships that may be changing, bodies that need care, responsibilities God has entrusted to us, dreams we are still nurturing, work to accomplish, rest to receive and a future to prepare for. The goal isn’t necessarily an empty plate, but an aligned one. As we bring all of this together, consider the season you’re actually in—not the one you were in, not the one you wish you were in, and not necessarily the one you hope is coming next. What might it look like to receive God’s grace for this season and learn its pace with Jesus?