it's all because of grace

I’ve been thinking about grace a lot this week.

Tuesday was just such a clear picture of a time that I could have been a sobbing wreck and I found something so different. I realize that it was grace. It wasn’t anything special about me… just the God who loves me… who equips me… who enables me to do what I have to do in this life.

There are just so many ways grace applies to our lives: grace as in God’s forgiveness beyond what we deserve… first and foremost, the foundation of everything I believe. If not for grace, I might as well give up any thought of eternity in Heaven. I certainly don't deserve it. If I lived a perfect life for the rest of my life, it still wouldn't be enought. I need grace.

Then there's grace as in “moving with ease”… the ability to go through trying situations with dignity… like a dancer… rising above what seems practical, leaping, as if being carried. Whether it's dealing with the illness of a loved one or keeping your chin up when people are being unkind or surviving heartbreak. Grace. I work towards it. I don't always have it.

Then there’s grace like “saying grace”… as in thanking God for our good fortune… God’s blessings on us… acknowledging that everything we have comes from Him and that what we don't have helps us learn to rely on Him for our daily bread.

And then there’s the grace that we extend to others. Giving them more than they deserve in the way of monetary gifts, forgiveness, latitude, understanding, compassion.

There is someone in my life who always chooses to believe the worst of me... any time something negative happens to her, she thinks I'm somehow connected... which couldn't be further from the truth. I'm the George W. Bush in her life.... the one who receives blame. But before I get mad... I have to think about the people in my life who haven't gotten their fair due from me... and I try to find the grace to absorb her false accusations... without striking back.

I’m sure there are other applications of grace but those are the four that came to mind for me today.

And.. like always… when there’s something heavy on my heart or my mind… I write it in sharpie marker on my hand, so that every time I glance down, I will meditate on that subject… and hopefully, take the lessons that God is impressing on me and put them into action.

Then something really odd happened when I wrote “grace” on my hand… the wrinkles in my hand caused the ink to bleed… and my *impeccable* handwriting ended up looking like it had a spider web across it.

I thought… wow… what a clear picture God gave me… grace, in my flesh, is just a mess.

It’s only His grace applied to my life that becomes something beautiful.

I need grace more and more every day. I know that I am such an imperfect person... and that it's only by the grace of God that I'm alive, employed, healthy, fed, loved...

So on this Thankful Thursday... I'm thankful for grace. May it abound in your life, too.