Living a Grace Full Life

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it (Paul’s “thorn”) away from me. But he said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9

First, the daily inconveniences…Jump ropes and strings knotted many times and attached to strollers, bicycles, little vehicles and sticks; loud, very, very loud laughter/ fake laughter; playmobil soldiers and their gear covering every square inch of the basement…again; books in messy piles…in front of their bookshelf homes; Cars character and Bob the Builder bins turned topsy turvy in an effort to find just the right ones; beds unmade; scrap paper trails on the floor from an endless variety of snipping crafts; fleets of paper airplanes behind the piano, under the beds, on top of the living room shelves; stink beetles squashed by scooters, stinking up the entire house; clothes and pillows and blankets strewn about from pillow fight and tent ventures; a broken bag of coins dropped over an intake vent; lost shin guards, lost coats and gloves, lost Bibles, lost underwear and jeans and on and on…;

Next, the daily crazy happenings…Zane receiving his first knee to the forehead from his brothers tussling above him; Ian accidentally peeing in the garbage can next to the toilet because he was day-dreaming; Isaac attempting to exhume our dog, Wasatch, from his grave in the back yard just so he could see him again; Colby, found sleeping underneath of our bed every couple of nights…

Lastly, the daily fluctuating childish behavior… screaming, crying, whining, tattling, bad attitude mingling with compassion, sharing, laughter, thankfulness, sweetness and obedience! Children. Reminds me of the Israelites. Hmmm…reminds me of me!

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I’ve been thinking a lot about the Fruit of the Spirit lately (mostly because I knew I was not exhibiting them), and I was wondering…. why is Grace not on that list of the Fruit of the Spirit? I’ve always thought that grace is the ability to somehow dance through irritations and come out relatively unscathed or to somehow not go crazy when everything is swirling out of control… but I couldn’t decide if that was exactly Biblical…

When I was in the 3^rd and 4^th grade Chums group in AWANA (way back in 1984), I memorized the acronym God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. But really, what does that mean…what are God’s riches? The two greatest riches that I can think of are ones that only God can provide: 1) eternal life through salvation and 2) Life. Daily life (daily, somewhat chaotic and crazy and often very messy, daily life). I’d say that these exceptionally rich gifts of daily life and eternal life do go hand in hand with one another but can they be considered the very definition of God’s Grace? And if so, what is my responsibility/role in exhibiting God’s Grace…especially as a wife and mother. I finally grabbed a concordance to try and figure out how and where do I actually find and apply God’s Grace in the midst of a chaotic life!?

Good news! I think I’ve finally figured it out… and to give you a hint…I don’t actually have to find and apply it…God already took care of it…it’s a byproduct of salvation.

I’m thinking of it like this…you don’t see “cookie” as an ingredient in a cookie recipe. Cookie is the umbrella term for flour and sugar and salt and soda and chocolate chips, mixed together and baked at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes! In the same way, Grace is like an umbrella term for our eternal and daily life, as well as those things which the Holy Spirit provides because of and through eternal and daily life: love and joy, peace and patience, kindness and goodness, faithfulness and gentleness and self-control.

One of my favorite Christian authors, Oswald Chambers, says, “Grace is the overflowing favour of God (Wow! He loves me that much?!); you can always reckon it is there to draw upon” (So, it doesn’t matter what’s going on at the moment?! Take a look at the aforementioned list, again!!!). Then he comments that “Prayer is the exercise of drawing on the grace of God [so] let circumstances bring you where they will (once again, check the list above!), keep drawing on the grace of God in every conceivable condition you may be in (frazzled, irritated, hurried, frustrated, tired, overwhelmed, lonesome, happy, giddy, goofy…humbled!!!).

In other words,

Grace is… when you are not enough…God is enough!

Grace is…God covering for you! (Check out Psalm 18 and Psalm 91)

Grace is… providing what we cannot on our own provide!

Even though (or possibly because) life is not always scripted just as we would have it, God provides the Grace we need to live our lives in a manner that is pleasing to God. So, as Paul says, “God’s Grace is sufficient for me!” Thanks be to God for his unspeakable Gifts! Thanks be to God who leads us in his triumph. Thanks be to God, who’s won the victory (1 Corinthians 15:57,58)! We can lead a life Full of Grace. Not because of our own doing and charm but simply because God loves us and has his hand on our lives!

Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 3:21a, 22b-24; Romans 5:20b-21; Titus 2:11-12; Titus 3:4-7