The Paper Plate

Tonight I used a paper plate.

And honestly, it felt a little rebellious.

For the longest time I've tried not to buy paper plates or plastic water bottles. I want to do my part. I care about the environment. I try to be mindful of what I use and what I throw away.

So, when I recently bought a pack of paper plates to take snacks to a friend's house, I didn't think much about it.

But when I came home, the leftover stack stayed in my kitchen.

Tonight, after a very long day, I found myself standing in the kitchen around 10 PM making dinner.

I had already washed dishes.

The sink was clean.

And for a moment, I reached for a regular plate because that's what I "should" do.

Then I stopped.

Why?

Why was I creating one more thing for myself?

I grabbed a paper plate.

Dinner was served.

And suddenly I realized this wasn't really about the plate.

It made me wonder:

How many things am I making harder than they need to be?

How many rules am I carrying around that aren't actually helping me?

How many times am I beating myself up over something small when I'm already doing the best I can?

Sometimes life is in a season where reusable containers, home-cooked meals, organized closets, and color-coded calendars all fit neatly together.

And sometimes life is a season of survival.

A season of appointments, responsibilities, caregiving, work, family, dishes, laundry, and trying to remember what day it is.

Maybe in those seasons it's okay to use the paper plate.

Maybe it's okay to choose the easier option sometimes.

Maybe it's okay to give yourself a little grace.

The paper plate reminded me of something tonight:

Not everything has to be optimized.

Not everything has to be perfect.

And not every burden needs to be carried.

Sometimes the healthiest thing we can do is let go of one small thing that doesn't matter as much as we thought it did.

So tonight, I used the paper plate.

And maybe there are a few other things I can let go of, too.

Before you go, I want to leave you with one question:

What is your paper plate?

What is the small thing you could release today that would make room for a little more peace?

Maybe grace isn't always found in doing more.

Maybe sometimes grace is found in realizing you've already done enough.