Amazing Grace

My husband is a smart man. I know this to be true. Even so, there are times he astounds me with his wisdom.

During a recent conversation, I was lamenting over a situation, which encompassed this familiar theme: I’m too this or not enough that. In the midst of my mental battle over the days which delivered me to that point, I chose the most logical course of action: nothing, absolutely nothing to help myself. Worst, in doing so, I felt like a toadstool—poisonous and sucking the life out of all those around me.

Utterly frustrated and disgusted with myself, I turn to my husband with a sigh and said, “There’s a gray area between grace and complacency.” Without a blink, he replied, “Nope, there’s enough grace to cover it all.” Boom. Mic drop.

Everything is more complicated it should be, or at least that’s what we believe, so it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. It’s in those hard spots where we want to give up, do nothing, stew in our pity party pot that grace covers us, like a well fitted lid. We need it to contain the mess our minds cook up. I needed to hear it, right then…there is enough grace to cover it all.

The only thing lackadaisical about my inaction in this given situation was my inability to receive His grace. Believe I am enough. As is. No activity required.

It is only in learning the repeated art of leaning in, which comes most frequently from hardship experiences, that we are able to appreciate the feel of grace’s soft embrace. When we stop focusing on the grit of life’s sandpaper, we can allow His grace to transform us through the chafing process. We can’t always see His grace in the moment because we are too distracted by the abrasiveness of the experience. All we hear is the devil whispering, oh you sure do need a lot of refining.

*Sigh* Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m the only one who feels this way. Nope, there’s enough grace to cover that too.

So in my REA/L moment with you today, hear me when I say this: everything truly is not as completely complicated, convoluted, or spiraling out of control as we may feel or believe. There is a constant blessing called grace, His amazing grace, that is just waiting to rush in and swaddle you. It saved a wretch like me and continues to do so over and over again. It even brought me here, through my storm to tell you, my friend, YOU are loved.