Falling Into His Grace

I Peter 4:10 "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

It started 7 years ago, with an article in the local paper--a walk for kidney disease, THE kidney disease that bloated our son up, filled him with anti-inflammatory steroids for life and taught him words in his young age like nephrologist, embolism, and needle biopsy.

Here I sit, eating a cold slice of pizza, still wired from my after-work Frapp and a couple of gathering trips for supplies for tomorrow morning's NephCure Walk--the 6th one I've planned and organized.

I feel it coming on...

I am not sure if I am going to burst out crying from exhaustion or I am going to fall to my knees in utter humbleness at how good God is to me. There is a fine line between the two at this very minute and so, I sit to write, to see where my words go, to unwind in the massaging of the Holy Spirit through His Word, in my thoughts, in my memories, in my anticipation, in the sweet mercy of the Lord.

The manifold Grace of God.

The meaning of this word, manifold, (in the Greek) is interpreted as "variegated," or multi-colored. Fall, though in California it looks and feels different than most parts of the country, the changing leaves, the colors and foliage exemplify variegation, the fullness of colors.

Fullness of Grace brightens up the dull areas of my life and piles high above the roots of my salvation. 

Grace Upon Grace (John 1:18)...Amazing Grace. 

Super-duper support, generous givers, vigorous volunteers and pro-active adults with numerous Facebook posts and the sweet faces of their children culminate tomorrow to share in this burden and to gather within the Grace--all different with different stories, yet the same love. They step out in Hope.

I will place my son's picture up on the table with a few pumpkins around it and know the Hope of the Lord. I see it in the challenge of this event and the Grace and fellowship He lavishes on me.

I snuggle still through the warm blankets of His promise to bloom again in the Spring of His planting. The variegated leaves of His grace cover me, feeding me, restoring me to know that I labor not for my glory...

but all for His Glory. 

I miss you Timmy, every day. It is never something that leaves me, ever. Thank you Lord for so many butterfly gifts this week, so much encouragement for Ted and myself. Lord, you know my uttermost thoughts and desires and You intentionally bring me to Your table to feed me and rejuvenate me, when so many things can get in the way. Thank you Lord for Your wisdom, Your Word, the Holy Spirit's voice that gently speaks to me in my very human emotions. Thank You Lord for this ministry---Yes, I call it a ministry, and may our efforts bring comfort and healing in Your time. Thank you for the relationships I am making and keeping. Lord, thank you for Your strength, even in my moments such as now, may I remain Your humble servant until You sweep and lift me up to be in Your presence, like a single multi-colored leaf floating high on the very breath of God.

When Words Don't Work

Psalm 90:17 "And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and do confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands."

A student today:  "I met this kid from China at lunch and I was trying to explain to him what 'stuffing' was.  It was hard to explain. He just didn't get it."

Finding the right words sometimes to articulate or describe something totally foreign to another person, doesn't always lend itself to a clear visual. How would you tell someone about stuffing, because it sounds...well, less than appetizing. 

You take stale bread, cut it in cubes then mix in some celery and onions and stuff it into the crevices of a  foul...oh,  and maybe add some herbs.  

Even as a writer, I rely on tools to help me bring my sentences more energy, provoke a feeling in a paragraph, convince someone in a blog. 

Words, words, words--not the only thing that communicates. 

I'll bet if my student invited this new friend over for a taste, for a demonstration of the making of stuffing, he'd see it, taste it, understand its power on the palate and the desire for a second helping. 

Sometimes, our words don't communicate. Nothing makes any sense. Someone needs a visual, a hands on demonstration and a taste of what is good before a revelation occurs. 

---And that, just might require us putting our own words in action, a step into obedience, a trust of the unknown. No more words. 

The Lord Himself did just that. He demonstrated love, by becoming flesh, living and ministering for 33 years and then continuing His obedience and God's salvation plan by going to the rugged Cross. His own blood sets us free.  How can we place that visual, give that demonstration, bring someone to the "table of His grace" so that they too can "taste and see that the Lord is good?" 

In this season of giving, of charity, of meeting needs, I encourage you to not just say the words, write the words, repeat the words...but demonstrate, provide a visual, sharpen your tools for hands on communication of the power of Love. What once you thought stale, God transforms into minstry, not only revealing insight but inspiration for your own soul as well. 

Lord, thank you for all the opportunities You give us to serve, to bless You, to bless others. In that, we become the visible love of Your servant heart. Thank You Lord, for those that have blessed me with hands-on love as well as their kindness in words. You go before us. If You so desire for our actions or our words to go forth, we only have to be obedient and trust You in our doing. Lord, give us that trust, give us that desire to see the opportunities and/or create the way to be Your hands and Your feet in all that we do. Confirm the work of our hands Lord, to know You and make You known. Amen. 

Reflection: How are you preparing to give to others this holiday season or seasons past? How can you continue to use more than words in every season?  

Growing Season

Isaiah 43:19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."

Sometimes, things end.

A break up happens, a final moment, a graduation of sorts.

Sometimes, things get stale, people move away, energy fades. 

Sometimes, we’ve learned, we’ve mentored, we’ve shared, and we just know it’s the right time to venture out, gather around some new faces. Not that they need to learn from me, but more, so new experiences and learning/growing begins to excite the soul once more. A new pathway can lead to new insights. 

Its spring! Let's look at some of our potted plants. Are you finding overcrowding, bursting- at- the -seams geraniums? They divide easily. It just takes a small section to break off, re-root and in no time, you’ve got a new plant.

An old Aloe Vera shoots off new arms every year and I frequently break off a cluster to start in a pot for someone. They come in handy for sunburns. 

A piece of ground that held my beautiful impatients, sits restless, after the frost got to them this year. The dirt longs for some new color and I hope to fill the space up soon. 

Enumerable buds are about to burst on my roses and the Amaryllis are just about to open. 

Wouldn’t it be sad if they just stayed in their bud form, never getting the chance to open up and absorb the sunshine and show off their beauty. After all, that is their purpose.

People are like that sometimes. They stay in their safe little bud, afraid to branch out, open up to what lies in their God-created cells, afraid what Holiness, Christ-likeness means, what it changes. 

What if they were meant to be a prize rose? What if they were meant to adorn a bouquet for a wedding and then preserved in a memory book? What if they were gathered to bridge a friendship in an act of forgiveness, bring joy to an ill or grieving person, or even "soothe a sunburn"?

And what if their only purpose was for the joy of the moment, and they bloomed to their full potential in their season? 

The "sometimes" do happen, and the "what-ifs" do too.

This week after listening to God, I know what the “sometimes” are, and He inspired me about the “what-ifs.”

With that thought in mind, I am gathering my spade, my planting mix, a few selected pots and with the Creator’s skill and green thumb, hope to begin a new “potted garden” of joyful, beautiful petals, willing to sink their roots in the warm soil of His grace. 

Lord, OK, I am stepping out in obedience here. I’m listening and trusting, cultivating faith in Your plan. Keep my “pots” ready and willing to be filled with your good nurturing and I look forward to replanted and bursting buds multiplying out JOY in the garden of our hearts, Amen.