STYLE STORY: SWAN SONG

This is my swan song.

No, I'm not retiring from Grace in Style, but I am retiring from allowing the world to take away my joy.

Recently, I noticed that the smile that's usually an ordinary expression on my face, was being pulled down at the corners. It was not a pleasant realization since this had never been a big issue in the past. I listened to my own advice from a couple weeks ago and stepped away from the comforts of life's busyness into an uncomfortable stillness. In that blank space, I was able to perform a heart check up, and boy, was it uncomfortable!

I really hated what I saw. My heart was reflecting more of the world than I had thought.

There were corners of darkness, swept away and hidden from the light; in those corners I saw the lies of consumerism, an unhealthy obsession for a certain body type, the desire to be liked by everyone, the eagerness to be like others, etc. I was allowing what I saw on social media and advertisements seep into my brain. It's so easy for the darkness to creep in when even the tiniest sliver of the barrier against this negativity is let down. 

It came to the point where my smiles were too often forced, laughter didn't come as easily, and I just didn't feel like I was living the grace-filled, joy-filled life I was intended to live.

Thankfully, there is the Light of grace and mercy that overwhelms me time and time again with the ability to overcome the darkness in any corner of the earth. It's in times like these that I am again reminded that "I can't brag about my love for God because I fail Him daily, but I can brag about His love for me because it never fails."

So this is my swan song.

I will choose joy each day. I may fail, but thankfully I have a good & faithful God to pick me up when I fall. And I'll just keep trying and choosing joy no matter what this world throws my way.

Photography: Jackie Accornero