in the interest of privacy
If you've made it here and are reading this post...Phew! I am sorry to put you through the extra step of signing in, really I am. I used to strongly dislike that little glitch when it happened to me as a reader. But in today's world, things happen and privacy becomes a little more necessary at times. "Assume the best" is a motto I try to live by where most things are concerned, but wisdom right now causes me to add a little caveat: "Assume the best, but prepare for the worst."
Moving on...I'll cut to the chase...challenges have mounted the last few months. Two challenges in particular that, running side by side, are undeniably proving God is faithful to slough off our jagged edges. Somewhat unrelated to the challenges, but no less meaningful, I've been re-reading Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World. Today, as I read Dave Harvey's chapter on "God, My Heart, and Stuff," my heart latched on to this statement: "Grace doesn't make things easy. But grace does make hard things possible."
Don't know about you, but that's where I live these days. (Oh, who am I kidding? I've always lived in need of grace...we all have.) But sometimes hard things in life feel so pressing, so life-sucking, so oxygen-depriving, that we are suddenly more aware than ever that without grace, we will not make it through. Grace used to be a word that meant something like "forgiveness" or "unmerited favor" to me. But right now, grace is more like "oxygen tank" or "asthma inhaler." Without God's grace reaching down into my mind and heart, I would be so paralyzed right now. I honestly don't know how I would make peace with the circumstances without God's grace flowing in and through me. This is good, really good. It doesn't feel good, but it is good.
If you find yourself nearly paralyzed right now by circumstances that you have no power to fix or change (in other words, as far as it depends on you, you have done your best to honor God fully) rest in this: God's grace is at work. He has not left you. He has not given you this insurmountable task and then left you alone in it. He is not standing by laughing and saying "Let's see how she gets out of this one!" Quite the contrary. God is faithfully conforming you to the image of His Son. Did we expect it to feel good? Did we expect there to be beds of roses instead of nails? Did we expect that we wouldn't have to die a little more with each challenge? But there is grace. Remember, "Grace doesn't make things easy. But grace does make hard things possible."
Moving on...I'll cut to the chase...challenges have mounted the last few months. Two challenges in particular that, running side by side, are undeniably proving God is faithful to slough off our jagged edges. Somewhat unrelated to the challenges, but no less meaningful, I've been re-reading Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World. Today, as I read Dave Harvey's chapter on "God, My Heart, and Stuff," my heart latched on to this statement: "Grace doesn't make things easy. But grace does make hard things possible."
Don't know about you, but that's where I live these days. (Oh, who am I kidding? I've always lived in need of grace...we all have.) But sometimes hard things in life feel so pressing, so life-sucking, so oxygen-depriving, that we are suddenly more aware than ever that without grace, we will not make it through. Grace used to be a word that meant something like "forgiveness" or "unmerited favor" to me. But right now, grace is more like "oxygen tank" or "asthma inhaler." Without God's grace reaching down into my mind and heart, I would be so paralyzed right now. I honestly don't know how I would make peace with the circumstances without God's grace flowing in and through me. This is good, really good. It doesn't feel good, but it is good.
If you find yourself nearly paralyzed right now by circumstances that you have no power to fix or change (in other words, as far as it depends on you, you have done your best to honor God fully) rest in this: God's grace is at work. He has not left you. He has not given you this insurmountable task and then left you alone in it. He is not standing by laughing and saying "Let's see how she gets out of this one!" Quite the contrary. God is faithfully conforming you to the image of His Son. Did we expect it to feel good? Did we expect there to be beds of roses instead of nails? Did we expect that we wouldn't have to die a little more with each challenge? But there is grace. Remember, "Grace doesn't make things easy. But grace does make hard things possible."
Love you! Your life and your marriage is a constant reminder of grace to us. God is always with us!
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