God's Amazing Grace

I have a friend who greets the question, “How are you today?” with this response. “Well, I woke up this morning on the right side of the grass. I’m grateful.” I usually chuckle with him because he reminds me that being alive is a gift. 

  I believe that each day, God gives us twenty-four hours in which to be the best we can be. And God doesn’t abandon us to struggle with that gift. God fills those twenty-four hours with moments of “Amazing Grace”. This time of year, God’s daily package often includes blessed sunshine dancing from flower to flower, or refreshing rain washing the world clean.  Regardless of what is happening in my life, I can look out my living room window, and give thanks for God’s beautiful world. Some days, I wake up excited about a party planned for a friend, a new job, a grandchild coming to visit. On those days, it’s easy to be aware of God’s Amazing Grace.

The problem is that every day is not filled with joy. April and May for my family and me were filled with tough days. As my sisters and I walked with our precious mother on her cancer journey to death, there were days when I didn’t want to open God’s daily gift of life. Exhaustion made the simplest task difficult. My heart ached for my Mom, who endured excruciating pain. Looking back, I know those days were also filled with “God’s Amazing Grace”. Those weeks were a “Holy Time”. God filled them with the privilege of physically caring for my Mom, with laughter in the midst of misery, with conversations about life and death, with strength to continue.    

                            

A parcel, no matter how beautifully wrapped, is not truly a gift until it is received and opened. Some days we want to refuse God’s gift of life because it’s difficult. Those feelings are natural and normal. On those days, we need to remember that always, God is with us. Trust that even when life is messy God has given us a day filled with “Amazing Grace”. Make a point of opening your eyes and heart to the Grace God has in store for you on even the greyest of days.   

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”  (Philippians 4:4)