I would love to list out how I finally learned to receive this grace, but I can’t for three reasons. One, I’m still learning. I think if we were all aware of the magnitude of this available grace, we would buckle at the knees, overwhelmed and undone. Two, I already fear that my small stories have too much boxing in. I fear this lavish grace may lose a little flavor in the explanation of it, as words can’t possibly describe the goodness of it all. But even more than that, and a bit more personal, I sometimes wish my stories were more dramatic and interesting, but they never seem to work out that way. I tend to have a pocketful of vanilla jelly beans to share rather than an elaborate, colorful, everlasting gobstopper.
So while some people have come to a deeper understanding of grace because of some big thing, some hard thing, some particularly interesting story of failure and redemption, or great heartache and forgiveness, that is not the way of my story. This grace awakening has happened slow, over time, less like a firework and more like a seed. Some of it came through understanding what it really meant when I was 7 and said Come, Lord Jesus. There are deep, theological truths that I have studied and discovered that have helped me see the logic of this freedom.
But there are other things too, things of the heart, things of life, and things of daily trouble that have brought about the testing out of this discovery. Is it true, what He says about Himself, even though this and this and this has happened? And the answer, for me, has always been yes. It is still true, even though.
When The Man and I began dating, we learned of grace the same way babies learn to walk: weak-kneed, wobbly, and constant falling down. Mainly, we practiced not-grace, and we lived with that for a while. It didn’t feel good. We worked through unforgiveness, through hurt, through unmet expectation. And in living with the not-grace, we realized that grace-living feels much better. We clumsied our way through moving toward one another rather than away, through extending forgiveness rather than holding on to the grudge, through listening rather than blaming.
After nearly 10 years of marriage, we still practice. Everyday, we practice. He is much better at this than I am, so much so that I sometimes wonder how he can be such a grown up while I continue to be a kid. I tend to hold on with a much tighter grip than he does.
But I’m learning. And the learning isn’t a teeth-gritting, white-knuckled kind of learning. It is perhaps the opposite kind of learning from what we are used to in this world. It is an upside-down learning. Rather than trying harder, grace is learned best when we begin to trust, to really believe God when he says this grace life is not your own doing, it is my gift to you. It is in carving out time for quiet, in finding time to sit with open hands to receive the daily graces extended towards me from heaven. That is where the learning begins. And it continues at the dinner table and at the bathroom sink and in the car when we’re running late. We rub shoulders with grace and each other everyday, we just don’t always see it that way.
There has been a shift in my view of God, of myself, of the people around me. As I receive grace given, I am better able to see. Even better and harder to believe? Grace sees me.
We have 18 days left in October, and in them I plan to share a bit more of how this invasion of grace has changed things as it relates to parenting, marriage, friendships, and other living life stuff. But for now, I’m growing weary of hearing my own voice. Seriously, have I ever written a post this long?
So tell us: How has this grace invasion changed things for you? And I mean really, on an everyday level? Or maybe it hasn’t? Or maybe you want it to, but you aren’t sure how to get there? I would love to hear from you in the comments and I’m doing my best to be present there to chat with you today. So glad you’re here.
Don’t forget to visit the other blogs hosting 31 Days Series: Nesting Place, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, My First Kitchen, Life With My 3 Boybarians, Reluctant Entertainer, The Inspired Room, Remodeling This Life.
i need you to write this much. i always need a few more words before i get understanding.
melissa~afamiliarpath´s last [type] ..The secret to a great breakfast
Oh really? Well, good then. Does that mean this is the first post of mine you’ve understood?
I wrote a great long spiel but have deleted it all just to say “yes, yes, yes” to all that you have said. This is the truth that sets us free.
I’m with you – life is a string of vanilla jelly beans for me too but hey, I like jelly beans! I wonder sometimes why I have had it so easy over others who seems to attract major dramas, one after another. But, then, I remember to praise God for His grace on me. By allowing me wholeness, I am able to come alongside others and help lift them up through life’s winding turns. It is a humble reminder and prayer that God shows me how each day to live my praise for the blessings he has allowed me.
I’ve been reading Cynthia Heald’s book lately, Becoming a Woman of Simplicity. I love how she starts the book emphasizing God’s words to us, “Abide in me.” Abide in me. What simple and powerful words. Simplify and abide. God doesn’t ask much and yet he asks our everything.
sarah (GenMom)´s last [type] ..Double Bonus- Sharon Osbourne and Marissa Jaret Winokur of The Talk answer more of my mom questions
I wonder about this exaltation of battle scars and woundedness that is in the church. It seems to be yet another way that the enemy takes our eyes off God and puts them back on us. If we were honoring God, vanilla jellybeans and gobstoppers and everything in between would all be glorious, no?
Love love love this post. As a striver, I really need to hear this – to learn by receiving, by slowing down.
Thank you!!
I do agree, Anna. I think it’s important for people to share their honest stories – both the grit and the ordinary. Because you’re right about all of it needing redemption, really. And it’s really not about me anyway.
Emily´s last [type] ..31 days of grace – day 13 the discovery- part 2
“This grace awakening has happened slow, over time, less like a firework and more like a seed. Some of it came through understanding what it really meant when I was 7 and said Come, Lord Jesus. There are deep, theological truths that I have studied and discovered that have helped me see the logic of this freedom.” I completely relate! I think sometimes it’s hard to describe, because we can’t offer a point in time that the 180 happened, instead it is a constantly occurring transformation.
Living A Bona Fide Life´s last [type] ..Frugal Fridays Week of 10-4 Shopping Trip
So true – it is a constant transformation. I’m so glad for that!
I love a little grace at a time. He must know that I couldn’t handle large doses. I have drama with my extended family and unfortunately it is not the graceful kind. I think it is a good opportunity to show my children how destructive drama can be and hopefully pass along some graceful teachings myself. Love your series and it has been so needed. Thank you.
I’m so glad you are enjoying it, Lisa. And drama is never an easy thing, especially within family. Extending grace in situations like that can feel clumsy and forced. But I think it’s possible, and it may look different than you think it ought to.
Perfect topic, perfect length. So needed to hear this today. Thank you.
Southern Gal´s last [type] ..Pumpkin cravings
Hi, Emily: I think your story is beautiful, as are all the stories of redemption and sanctification that our Lord has wrought! I’m guessing that many who began obeying the Lord at an early age can identify with your seed analogy, while those of us with later conversions may have had a more dramatic change–but all stories give glory to our Savior. And how many of us who realized the truth later in life wish we’d begun much sooner!! The Lord pulled me out of false beliefs and false hope when I was 32 by putting my now-husband in my path, who had the answers to my many questions about the Bible. When I came to see the truth, I was changed instantly but have also experienced the continuing “seed” changes that you describe so well. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. We all need the encouragement of others’ stories, and it gives us opportunity to offer praise and thanksgiving to the Master Sower!
Corrie Ten Boom’s father said grace was like a train ticket: you get it when you need it and not before. I’m on my fifth teenager (he’s 17), and I can attest that this is very true. God knows when we need more grace and when we need to give more.
Karen´s last [type] ..Shooting manually photos
You’re so right, Karen! I’ve seen this in my own life innumerable times! “Each day has enough trouble of its own,” doesn’t it–and He is right there to get us through it!
Your posts are so lovely. Calming, reflective, and full of the awesome truth of our God! Thank you for sharing. I am in awe that God extends such all encompassing grace to us-all the time! So grateful this morning!
But isn’t that real life? Vanilla jelly beans most of the time. To me, life is in the little things, the everyday moments, much more than in the big dramatic things. I know that is when I need grace, in the little, everyday things. That’s when it is so easy to get busy and forget. In the big time of crisis, I always know that I and the situation are in God’s hands. When my son was born 14 weeks prematurely, weighing less than 2 pounds, I could only pray “thy will be done.” I had no idea what the result was going to be or what the best result for me would be, so how could I do anything else? But remembering that every day? Now that’s the real challenge.
(By the way, that tiny baby is now 28, bigger than me. He still has some challenges, but is a wonderful person and truly a gift that let to huge amounts of growth for me and my husband and our relationship.)
Carol´s last [type] ..Reinventing Me
Yes! Yes, Carol! In those everyday things, the grace is the hardest then. Thank you for saying so!
I am not a new Christian by any means. I am learning so much about this grace through one of those big hard things. The unmerited favor bestowed upon us during this time has been such a humbling experience. So hard to comprehend. I am in the place that if the Lords people can extend this much grace to us, How much more so is the Lords? My big hard thing is not going to end today or tomorrow, not for years so I am trying to embrace this and pass on this grace to others. Thank you so much for these words they had me up at 3:30 a.m. this morning searching my Bible, seeking my Savior.
Thank you for speaking, Marie – for being a voice of ‘the big, hard things.’ There is much to learn and much to receive. And the fact that you were up at 3:30 makes me glad I auto-posted for midnight!
Knowing that grace has been extended to me…daily…has made me realize I don’t have to be perfect or fit a certain mold to be loved by Him. I forget that sometimes…but then I get into the Word and am reminded of how awesome He is…
allison morrison´s last [type] ..What could be worse than being trapped underground
Grace continues to change everything for me. Thirteen years ago when my husband & I were dating we went to a Bible study that shook us upside down as we learned what grace really was (& both of us having been raised in “Christian” homes). The pastor leading it asked us a question — “What percent of the time is God pleased with you?” I was scared to the core as I tried to come up with an equation of my “well, I try to do … and I try to do …” He BLEW my mind when he said “Once you’ve received Jesus’ gift, God is 100% pleased with you. You are everything He dreamed you would be.” I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me, but as I started to truly LIVE with the thought that because of the righteousness of Jesus, God was 100% pleased with me — it rocked my world and my every day living. The pressure to measure up was gone. It was an incredible gift that my husband and I are sharing with our 3 children each day and with those around us.
Such a great point. That same question un-did me, too. It is easy to try to pie-chart our lives, thinking this part and this part equal trying hard enough or being pleasing enough. To realize when He said ‘it is finished’ he really and truly meant it? Well. That is just hard to believe. So glad it’s true.
emily freeman´s last [type] ..31 days of grace – day 13 the discovery- part 2
Although I have known that in head knowledge, hearing Sheila Walsh say it at Women of Faith hit me right in the gut when I really needed it.
Sharon´s last [type] ..Virtual Coffee
Oh yes, this grace has changed me. An ordinary girl, with an ordinary story, who always wanted to be ‘good’.
But sometimes, life invades. Worry overtakes reason. Unexpected hardships overwhelm. Grace seems like a memory from childhood — fleeting.
And then I realize I must fight. Not for Grace, but with Self-will who does not die quietly.
Eyvonne´s last [type] ..6 Tips for Handling Difficult Conversations
I have so very much loved this series… and I love the way you see Grace… it has helped me see in a vanilla bean kind of way that Grace is so much simpler than sometimes I make it out to be. That is important… to remember that Grace is this majestic thing that God did for us… but it is also in the simple things we do for each other every day… i love that… i love your perspective
Jenny´s last [type] ..Project- Life Unwrapped
This was an enlightening post. I honestly have never looked at grace in any way other than the firework, gobstopper kind, since that has been my life’s story. But reading this has shown me that probably more often than not, for most people, grace is a slow burn rather than an explosion when we need one. I really liked your analogy of the seed. Thank you for the new perspective.
natalyn´s last [type] ..two things
Why, you’re welcome, Natalyn. I love hearing the fireworks stories. I just can’t always relate to them. But I’m so glad they exist!
emily freeman´s last [type] ..31 days of grace – day 13 the discovery- part 2
Life is usually vanilla jelly beans though, and unless you thrive on drama, it’s such a soothing place to be when you can look those very plain moments over and know they are just as important and can be just as life changing. I have friends who have faith rooted deeply in a fireworks moment that they made it through and while I realize that we all have our own story, I find that it can be harder to cling to and hold onto grace and faith when you don’t have a moment like that. I’ve never been bashed upside the head with an enlightening. I have just been flailing my way toward truth and faith and searching for grace. You are helping. Thank you.
Grace in the every day for me is NOT looking at the endless things that I didn’t do or didn’t do right or couldn’t be. I can only do that by standing in the truth of God’s Word: that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. And begging God to make my heart know that full well.
I think I fall somewhere in the middle. Not a lights blaring, hallelujah moments life but also so much story because my surrender did not come until I was 18. It seems and feels as if God is gently undoing every stitch of me that I made with the world’s needle and thread instead of His. There’s grace there, too, in the tenderness of His touch when it hurts so much.
ellen´s last [type] ..last week- battleship and a preview
Emily,
Just poetry in motion – makes me “buckle at the knees, overwhelmed and undone.” To answer your question: first, some of us can’t be taught by “seeding”. Some of us have spiritual ADD. We don’t pay enough attention, our minds wander, our spirit follows, and then Our Lord has to grab it, bring it home.
I’m sorry, did I just say something?
See what I mean.
Some of us need the, “story of failure and redemption, or great heartache and forgiveness”. Wish I didn’t – guess I did. The fact that God could draw you in with vanilla jellybeans speaks volumes about your heart.
And isn’t it interesting that Grace seldom says “excuse me” when it bumps into you?
Just sayin’
Thank you Emily.
Great words, Craig. We are all so different, but in need of the exact same thing, ultimately. I love this comment. Brought tears, actually. Not sure yet why. But thank you.
Okay, first I just want to say that it’s the “pocketful of vanilla jelly beans” that’s real life — that’s the everyday, the living in grace everyday. It’s not dramatic, it’s not lightning and wind and earthquakes. It’s the still, small. And that’s what I love about you and your writing, Emily — because it’s not the everlasting gobstopper; it’s the vanilla jelly beans (and they taste so good!).
As for an invasion of grace…I wrote a bit about that in the comments for your last post. Just that it’s taken me so long to “get it,” this grace — to understand it. It’s so unfathomable,you know? And I guess the everydayness of it for me comes in learning that I still get grace heaped upon me, despite my flaws and my foibles, maybe even because of my flaws and foibles? Grace keeps coming through it all. And it’s truly amazing.
I love your longer post here, Emily — good thing you are writing books. We all want more of you!
Michelle DeRusha @ Graceful´s last [type] ..Neighborhood Brunch
I love your words here and in the last comment, too, Michelle. It’s so beautiful, your description of your understanding more of grace (and foibles! what a great word!) I hadn’t thought of it, but really Tuesdays Unwrapped is all about those vanilla jellybeans, yes?
Yes! I hadn’t thought of that either, but Tuesdays is Vanilla Jelly Beans! Love it!
Michelle @ Graceful´s last [type] ..Neighborhood Brunch
Oh Emily:
I have soaked in everyone of these posts. I’ve been trying to be gracious, graceful and full of grace this year. I’ve allowed my life in the past to be full of drama rather than grace. I let myself let others dictate how my day is going, how I feel about my myself etc. I’ve been trying to only trust in Him and receive His Grace while also extending grace to myself and others. Your posts have helped so much, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Nancy
Emily -
I have really enjoyed this series. Your thoughts and perspectives on grace creep into my mind everyday. I am trying so hard to find grace in my life but am struggling, especially in the parenting department. I can’t wait to read your next 18 days of posts. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy life to inspire so many people.
Mikelle´s last [type] ..fall wreath
I am grateful, so grateful, for having been found. You know how it goes. . . “I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.” I am glad to be in the “am found” category. But it took a long time, because for so long I didn’t realize I was in the “lost” category. I was stumbling along, thinking “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” meant that I needed to be able to do all things rather than recognizing that Christ can do all things.
Oh, gosh. What do you get when you have a lost person assuming she knows the way? More lost, that’s what. Lost, loster, lostest.
But grace can see all the way to lostest. Though the way to that much lostness involves so many twists and turns and track-backs, grace can go the distance. I know it can, because grace made it all…the…way . . . to me.
Amazing.
Richella´s last [type] ..Shutter bug
I am glad God tells us to ‘grow in grace’ not explode into it all at once. Having just hit another level of understanding God’s grace recently, it is even more amazing. Finally grasping the ‘give yourself some grace’ was a huge new step for me. thanks for writing this. We don’t get sick of ‘hearing’ you.
Sharon´s last [type] ..Virtual Coffee
Well, I do have the big dramatic story {the one I wrote about in my guest post here} but believe it or not, much more of my grace journey has been just between God and me. Like a lot of “grown-up girls,” I’m brutally hard on myself. Showing grace toward myself and accepting His toward me, is perhaps harder than showing grace to others. Like you, Christianity was so much about rules for more than half of my life. Grace was just a word in the hymnal. It’s been a slow process. Even now, I’m like an archaic, calcified onion. {Weird analogy, yes.} God is slowly peeling away one stubborn, stinky layer at a time as He uses real life, the wise counsel / encouragement of others, and the sweet and patient working of the Holy Spirit.
Your words find much resonance here.
Scooper´s last [type] ..The Perfectionists Guide to Domestic Imperfection
That was such a great post Emily! I really enjoyed it. There is nothing wrong with having a pocketfull of vanilla jellybeans. I used to think it made me less of a person…less experienced. Then my life took a 180 and it hasn’t really righted itself yet. I long for those days. Cherish them. Grace is beautiful. Grace is, as you point out so clearly, HUGE! I am so thankful everyday for God’s grace and mercy. He is so amazing. I’m thankful for finding your blog and the others your recommend.
Blessings!
Emily,
Isn’t it “amazing” how much Grace is like Forgiveness, in that the more you understand it, the more you are convicted to extend it.
Thank you.
Amazing times 10,000.
Sher
thank you so much Emily for reminding me of the truth. i particularly like the ‘Rather than trying harder, grace is learned best when we begin to trust, to really believe God when he says this grace life is not your own doing, it is my gift to you’ part. i feel like even though i know i can’t do it, i try so hard everyday to be good enough to earn grace and forgiveness and love. i’m reverting to my ‘good girl’ nature. and i want so bad to not do that, to trust, to really believe, but gosh, it’s so hard! it’s so hard to kind of give up on trying and accept the gift. it sounds wonderful and perfect, but it’s hard to put into practice. yea.
i miss you!
Amy´s last [type] ..oh nothing
It’s easier to blame. It’s easier to point. But, it leaves a deeper hurt and even a scar . I’m seeing that choosing forgiveness and allowing Him to help me do it – no way I can do it on my own – gives God’s grace the space it needs to breathe into us, grow us, and make us one.
His “bad points” don’t stand out anymore and I remember the man God blessed me with.
Just this week I see I should start writing Him notes again and leaving it around the house for him to find
Ah grace. I totally drink in this post.
I loved this, Emily. The beautiful thing about grace (and mercy) is that it’s always undeserved, which is why it takes your breath away whenever it’s extended, both by God and by those who are part of our earthly lives.
Dayle´s last [type] ..Monday Musings The Power of Encouraging Words
I’m loving this series. Thanks for sharing with us! Like most of us, I’m still learning to live a life of grace. I find it easier to extend it to others than to extend it to myself… but your posts have encouraged me to go deeper in my exploration of grace and to realize on a heart-level just how much grace has been extended to me by a God who is under no obligation to do so.
Jen´s last [type] ..Retreat
For me, Grace has been learned by me finally saying I give up! I gave everything to God (not long ago) and I do believe that grace has been there all along – I can see a tad clearer now through the fog. Life has been challenging (to say the least). I used to live some days by just one minute at a time to try to get through to the next. Being a mom to 3 male teenage boys who have autism is just one ‘nilla jellybean in my hand. My one son is extremely severe. Not only does he have severe autism, but he has profound mental retardation. He suffers daily in our world from trying understand our everyday words to being sick day after day with horrific headaches. Pop another jelly bean in my mouth – and I get breast cancer. Everyone tells me – God doesn’t give you more than you can handle. My brother just died at 44 and I do not want anymore …. I can’t handle anymore. So – I give it all to God. I pray hard every day and have been since I was a little girl. I didn’t call out some other jelly belly’s b/c I didn’t want to make you think I am doing a boo hoo feel sorry for me kind of comment b/c that isn’t it at all. I want to tell everyone that GRACE is there. For example, today, my son smiled at me. He did… half the corner of his mouth started and then he did it! He gave me a smile… Then I look at Brookie (who is right there next to him as he is smiling) and I know – God sent her to me. She is GRACE – every meaning of it. A person, another person, yet another – hired through the mental retardation system to try and help. This person – probably now the 300th or so – she is Grace! God is good. Just when I couldn’t even go to the bathroom without bringing my son b/c last time I did – he decided to help himself with the medication (he had a beginning of one of his headaches) – he coded – actually died and through this horrible situation – God went above and beyond – we were actually IN childrens hospital for my son’s back pain! 50+ doctors piled in his room and my son’s life was saved (he coded 10+ times before he could be moved into the intensive care unit). God made me realize that it isn’t the autism, the mental retardation, the pain he endures daily, or even the systems that I have to fight day in and day out to try and have his needs met – it is about his life – his life! I have been worrying since the day I was dx’d with cancer how he would live on this earth when my time is gone – so that he wouldn’t be placed in a residential facility… but Grace revealed itself and turned the tables…. God proved that I COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT MY SON. GRACE IS THERE…. in abundance in my life – I’ll take all my ‘nilla jelly beans – each and every one of them – actually I wouldn’t trade them for anything. For each of my beans brings an abundance of grace. I wouldn’t know how to live a life any different without my son 24/7 – I wouldn’t know what to do – I wouldn’t thrive. The death of my brother? Right now – perhaps to reinforce that while we are here on this earth – to take every minute in – as best as we can. That smile I received today – will last until I am graced with another! Thank you for your wonderful topic! It took me 47 years to understand Grace!
Oh man, Sue. That is some seriously difficult stuff – and your grace embrace is simply beautiful in the midst of it all. And for what its worth, I think those people who say “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle” is a concept taken out of context. I think this life itself is WAY more than we can handle. That’s why he had to come. If we could handle it, we wouldn’t need him. And so he came, and there is grace by the minute.
thank you for sharing your story with us!
emily freeman´s last [type] ..31 days of grace – day 13 the discovery- part 2
grace. i struggle to receive it everyday, and yet, it’s what i need most of all. for some reason, it’s so difficult to simply open that gift. sometimes i wonder, “what is my deal, God?” and i’m still not sure what keeps me from “buckling at the knees” some days. and then there are days that i do…just a little…get to see how real it is, and how thankful i am for it.
Melissa´s last [type] ..Goody- Goody
i think this is wonderful. Not too long, full of prayerful words and delicious jelly beans.
JoAnn´s last [type] ..A Message From My Laundry
First, thank you….
Second, my favorite part of this post is the “less like a firework and more like a seed,” and “things of daily trouble” that resonate with me. I guess the best way to put it is I discovered it was all about him and not about me. The discovery itself is grace. Love your blog. Looking forward to the rest! Thanks again!
denice´s last [type] ..Getting Into a Rhythm of My Own
Grace. I love grace. Well, I love the IDEA of grace – but honestly have so much more trouble just accepting it! As a life-long girl who has always tried to make everyone happy, it’s been a long lesson God has been so intent on teaching me and reteaching me. Wish I had more time to write.
Thank you for your beautiful messages and reminders of God’s Grace and love. I’m having a really hard time accepting that I’m worthy of his unfailing love and grace. Am I good enough? I’ve been so short-tempered with loved ones and sharp-tongued with others. How can he still love me and be proud of me after how I’ve acted? I can understand how He does that with others, but I just can’t embrace it myself. Each of your posts has spoken to me in different ways so I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope to be able to let go and accept that I’m ok and loved so I can show his light through my actions. I just don’t know how I can do that right now.
Such interesting timing to come across your series– I have more to read and catch up on, but wanted to comment here first. Lately our family has been really busy and in the midst of the busy-ness we’ve had some “glitches” where things don’t go as planned. When we’re tired and worn out, it can be really hard to have grace for eachother, and your post totally speaks to that. When I’m living in God’s grace, I can pass it on. when I’m rushed and frazzled and not paying a bit of attention to His grace that floods my life (whether I’m paying attention or not!)… I don’t have it to give. Thanks for sharing. I’m excited to read more!
I didn’t like practicing not-grace either. It never feels good.
Your words are deep and I’m feeling like fluff again. Thank you for speaking the words I wish I knew how to communicate. Instead, I talk about houses.
melissa @ the inspired room´s last [type] ..31 Days of Autumn Bliss Day 15- Good Enough
Melissa- You offer a different kind of beauty that fills our hearts and soothes our spirits, too. Good works through us all in different ways. This may sound corny but you were the first design blog I ever read and through you, He opened a door to the world of design blogging, which has enhanced the beauty of my house for my family and me. Thank you for that! I’ve never posted on your site before but I hope you read this and it helps you realize that when you “talk about houses” you make a big difference in beautiful and grace-filled ways you may not realize.
Heather, thank you so much for your encouraging words. I am glad God offers us all opportunities for communicating and modeling His love and grace. So humbled that His truth can shine through my feeble attempts!
melissa @ the inspired room´s last [type] ..31 Days of Autumn Bliss Day 15- Good Enough
I knew grace had invaded my space in a huge way when I discovered one of my boys in sin’s choke hold and all I felt was heartbreak. Not disappointed or angry but heartbroken because my heart has been broken by sin too. God has always met me with grace (and heartbreak I’m sure). Only an understanding of the grace extended to me could allow me to extend grace so freely to my son. I’m grateful.
I find I write ppl off less quickly. And I ache more for others