Grace & Grit

 

I’ve wanted a custom license plate for the front of my car for a while now. I designed a few different versions and finally landed on one. It’s not really a vanity plate—more like a tiny billboard on my 20 year old car that reads:

Grace & Grit

Fueled by Faith.

Grounded in Grit.

This is why…

Grace is one of God’s greatest gifts.

It teaches me to respond with compassion, even when the world invites me to react.

It’s choosing kindness when I could choose control.

It’s letting people be human—including myself.

It’s the soft answer when—honestly—I want to bite back. The deep breath before I react. The prayer in the parking lot.

Grit is what keeps me standing when grace feels impossible. It’s the stubborn, sacred kind of resilience that says: I will still show up.

Even when it’s hard.

Even when I’m tired.

Even when the path forward feels more like a cracked sidewalk than a yellow brick road.

The flower on the plate is a reminder—to myself—of resilience and beauty in the midst of the messy. Through concrete, gravel, and broken places…

That’s me.

I will bloom anyway.

But it’s not just about growth—it’s about beauty.

The crack in the sidewalk is a story in itself.

It’s the part we’d usually cover up, pave over, or avoid. But that’s exactly where God shows up. Not in polished perfection, but in the broken places.

This is where His grace takes root. This is where He grows beauty out of what feels hopeless.

Not just resilience—but redemption.

Not just surviving—but thriving.

This plate isn’t about being perfect.

It’s about being real.

Because although my word for 2025 is thrive… I’m not always feeling it.

I am not strong on my own. God meets me in the mess. He gives me grace when I run out, and grit when I want to give up.

Yep—every ounce of softness and strength I have comes from Him.

So if you see my plate, you’ll know…you are  looking at someone who’s still growing. Still going. Still believing in the One who gives both Grace & Grit.