Do you ever wonder why God puts up with you and your foolishness? Or even more remarkably, that your friends and family do as well?
Grace. All grace--start to finish, up and down, front to back. Grace for foolishness. Grace for failure. Grace for falling down.
And grace for forgiveness. Grace for forever loving. Grace for finding a way to pick us up, dust us off, and set us back on course again.
Oh thank You, thank You, thank You, Lord Jesus for the priceless gift of Your grace...and for the treasure of friendship grace as well. Oh how I need them both, every day and every hour.
Just yesterday, yours truly (once again) lost her perspective. How on earth can it take so little to cause me to veer off the safe path of trust and hope and into the dangerous oncoming traffic of doubt, frustration, disappointment? One minute I'm happily walking along beside Your "still waters" and in Your "paths of righteousness." Content. Satisfied in You. Grateful. Trusting like a little child.
And then the next moment, something as trivial as a poor tournament golf round for our oldest son can momentarily throw me off kilter and cause me to forget You are in control and all Your ways are ultimately best. Yes, I can say that I believe it (through clenched teeth), but my heart and attitude betray my doubt and disappointment. Actually, let me call it what it really is--sin.
It took God's Word and the words of a dear friend to bring me back into line with the Truth.
So thank You for Father for the gift of Your Word that returns and restores our wayward hearts and emotions back into Truth...the true Truth. Not the truth of our vacillating feelings but the true Truth of Your Word, Your promises, and Your never-failing faithfulness. Your sovereign goodness and grace...even when we least deserve it.
And thank You also, Father, for the treasure of our friends and family who provide the "skin face" of Jesus in our lives by modeling Your grace when we fall down...and who lift us up by reminding us of Your true Truth. Who remind us of the true Source of our Hope.
Hope not born of success...but of the Savior. Hope born not of perfect circumstances...but of our perfect Redeemer. Hope born not of possessions or power or popularity...but of the Person of the Lord Jesus who is "our sure and steadfast Anchor of the soul." (Heb.6:19)
Sometimes we forget, Abba. Thank You for refusing to give up on us, but instead for reminding us of the Truth and for bestowing upon the gift of friends and family who do the same. We are not worthy--I am not worthy--of You or them. But that's grace, isn't it? "God's riches at Christ's expense." And that grace is beautiful beyond measure.
"Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." (Heb.13:15-16)
So again, I offer up my simple sacrifice of praise to my God. Today, it's for His gifts of grace--both in Himself and in our family and friends. And what an appropriate day to do this--November 1st--the day we haul out our "Family Thanksgiving book." It's simply a little notebook we bring out every November and record things for which we're thankful on most days. (Notice that word "most"--we've missed plenty of days over the years...but grace, people, grace!)
Thankful for everything. From the lips of babes. How often I need the reminder that we are "to give thanks in ALL circumstances." (I Thess.5:18) Not necessarily give thanks for all things, but in all things.
You know what? I can do that. Thankful even in adversity or struggle or whatever, because it's all filtered through the loving, gracious hand of my Heavenly Daddy...and He makes no mistakes. Will you join me in choosing at least one thing each day in the month of November for which to be thankful...truly thankful? And then, don't just tell God thank You (though, of course, do thank Him first!), but also share your gratitude with someone else as well. Joys shared are multiplied...just as sorrows shared are divided. Let's do some multiplying this November! God, after all, is the Creator and Giver of it all.
Today, thank You, Father, for grace...and thank You for friendship.
To God be the glory.
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