Don't miss it!

So often I miss it. I get too tied up in the day to day “to dos” to see it right in front of me. I rush around, hurrying from one activity to the next, completely oblivious to it. In fact, most of the time I get caught up in complaining about little things or distracted by minor inconveniences that I have the audacity to label as “problems”.  And there it is; right in front of me, all around me, God’s grace.

Grace. An undeserved gift. Oh, how my life has been characterized by this blessing! It’s there first thing in the morning when I open my eyes to the sound of children laughing and playing across the hallway. Or right beside me in a husband who knows me fully, flaws and all, and loves me unconditionally. It’s all around me in a home that provides shelter and food to fill our bellies. It’s in the squeals of children enjoying the beautiful spring weather at the park and the companionship of girlfriends to do life with. It’s in the sound of my feet hitting the pavement and the quickness of my breath in a body that is healthy and strong. It’s in the freedom to homeschool my kids and teach them about Jesus, openly and without fear. And I could go on, and on, and on.

And yet, how often I miss it. Satan is the master of distraction, of causing us to look around at the brokenness and chaos of the world rather than looking up at the One who with a whisper stills the winds and waves. And when I take the time, I realize that His grace is also in the midst of the storms. How often He has used them to shape and mold me, to make me more like Jesus. Oh, that He loves us too much to let us persist in our wandering! That He will send the trials to turn our eyes from worthless things and back to Him.

 I am so thankful that this morning as I sat quietly in my bed with the Word, He showed me a clear picture. One not crowded with lists and schedules or silly trifles that claim my focus. But One of His making. As I began to praise Him for who He is and what He has done, I was overcome with gratitude.

Perhaps the undeserved gift that I miss most often is the greatest one of all. The gift of my salvation! “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!”  1 Peter 2: 9 says “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light.” Oh, how sweet the sound of grace to a sinner like me.  To know that no matter how great the joy here on earth-the smiles, the laughter, the shelter, the love- it is a mere shadow of the joy to come for the believer!

I know the storms will come. I know the trials are waiting. But today I am thankful for a season of “happy”.  And I am thankful that though there will be valleys that we must walk through, His grace is just as sufficient in those times and joy is possible always in Christ. And the seasons of “happy” are just grace upon grace and mercy upon mercy. How loving and faithful our good God is.