Grace

Flowers from my aunt and cousin from the weekend

My gift from today

Being one of God's children brings an unceasing series of amazing experiences. Not always seemingly fun or good, but amazing. I received an email today that left me completely deflated and hurt. Someone needs something from me, and I am not delivering on her timeline. She was demanding, and it stung. As I read over the message again with my husband, I began to realize she really lacked grace towards me. That thought carried with me throughout my day.

It's so easy for me to shrivel or become angry when people are not gracious, particularly when I am wronged. And it is extremely hard to respond in grace when I feel wrongly accused. I have to bathe situations like this in prayer, or I am tempted to run over them mentally with a fine-toothed comb over and over again. I know that is unhealthy, unproductive and usually leads to sinful thoughts. All I could do is beg God for grace.

As I pulled through the carpool line, my friend motioned for me to meet her in the back of the parking lot. She met me with flowers. (She was giving me a belated get well bouquet from my food poisoning.) Then she opened the van door and yelled, "Boys, you want to come over and play at my house?" There it was. Unusually magnificant grace, right from God himself through the sweet instrument of my friend. She enabled me to run some errands with just the baby, a much needed time of peace. When I came home after picking the children up from her house, I came home to a freshly cleaned house (my Mom had called our dear Isabel who cleans our house at a moment's notice when I am swamped). There was the grace, again.

My heart is in such a wonderful place and ready for my talk with the person who sent the email. We are meeting tomorrow. God gave me the visible and invisible grace to meet this person through the lenses of the gospel, and not in my own flesh. I pray He will be glorified, and not anyone's pride. I am so thankful.

This verse gives me great hope:
Romans 6:12-14
"Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."