Thursday, April 16, 2009

Grace

My apologies for being both absent and inconsistent this week. When Monday morning dawned, I had an empty calendar and the promise of spring and sunshine. God had other plans (doesn't He always?).

On Monday, I had a friend ask if I could watch her eldest son for a few hours while she took her youngest to the burn unit in Portland. He had burned his hand at a family dinner the day before and needed a follow-up visit with a special burn-doctor to make sure it wasn't infected or worse than they originally diagnosed. He is okay with first and second degree burns, but has to have a bandage on his hand for a while.

Then, on Tuesday, another friend called asking for help. She had to go into the hospital and needed someone to care for her daughter for an unknown amount of time. "Absolutely, not a problem!" Twenty-six hours later, I said good-bye and collapsed into my easy-chair.

Today was back to normal, so I took the kids to the park for a little picnic and play-time. They have been so patient this week sharing their beds, their toys, and their momma. I often felt like a chicken-sans-head, and relied heavily on God's grace and strength to get me through. Even now, I am amazed at God's provision: allowing me to be a stay-at-home-mom to care for my kiddos, knowing the time and the place when friends would call out for help and making me ready and available, covering the entire week with grace and mercy.

This afternoon, while the sun is shining so beautifully outside, I went for a swim in the Word, and lapped up every drop, much like Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Augustus loved the chocolate so much, he just fell in, head first and got sucked up through the tube. Good stuff! The Word is just like that! Once you start you just can't stop:

Psalm 6:9
The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.

Job 1:21
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised."

Joshua 24:15
"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

1 Corinthians 16:13
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.

1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Do you see what I mean? Where do I start? With the chocolate truffles? The chocolate covered strawberries? Or maybe the river of flowing chocolate? Grace is amazing like that. It covers us, "abundantly" according to 1 Timothy chapter 1, "along with faith and love" because of Jesus Christ.

When I am tired and just can't -- can't cook one more dinner, can't tie one more shoe, can't change one more diaper -- God gives me a little nudge and says, "I AM."

3 comments:

ambersun said...

That's great that you were able to rely on God's grace in your hectic week.

Please pray that I can do that. I nearly lost my temper today and that scared me.

Welcome back to the blogging world! I missed you.

God Bless

Amber

Michelle said...

Good stuff!!! Once you get that kind of taste of God and His Word you just want more. It's the one safe thing we can binge on! =]

Lisa said...

Blessed! That's how I feel after reading your post today knowing that I'm not alone in this chocolate fixation. There's something about being hungry for the word and finding satisfaction when you start a nibble here and there. I'm so glad that God has blessed you where you are today! You are truly blooming where you are planted!