His Grace is SO Much More that Enough!!

Of all the best wishes and wisdom given to me before I left, there were two that stood out to me. Two women at two different times looked me in the eyes and with a tone of "this is from the Lord" said to me, "God will give you the grace that you need in your new place." It was almost eery how identically they said this to me. I was not thrilled with this "bit of advice". A need for grace means....I will be facing things that won't be easy, right? I imagined all the reasons I might need God's grace and tried to be grateful that the Lord was already showing me through these two women that I would have grace to...survive.

Well here I am after ten days in Brownsville and without a doubt I have needed God's grace. The thing is, however, that I was oh so wrong about His grace. His grace is not about just surviving. Its about lifting us above our challenges, our "moments", our fears and, our disappointments, and filling us with joy, peace, excitement, and inspiration. I can't tell you how many times in the past ten days, the Lord has, sometimes in a matter of minutes, changed me on the inside: my expectations, my preconceived notions, and my cultural ideas of how things are "supposed to be". There have been situations arise that I've thought, "Oh no this is NOT good." And then twenty minutes later my viewpoint has turned 180 degrees. He has stuck His pointer finger in my heart and said, "Hey see that....oops....are you a snob?" And I've responded, "Oh, my, surely that can't be! Snobbery disgusts me! But gosh darn that is pretty nasty!" And I've felt Him dig it out and suddenly my surroundings look beautiful and full of life and I feel like dancing and hugging people.

Today was probably my hardest day. I was tired, I was hot, I was stressed, I was worried, and I was grumpy! As I drove home from the store I asked the Lord, "Where is all that grace Lord?" And He whispered to me, "Hold on.....it is there. Just because you can't feel it at the moment doesn't mean its not there." I turned up the New Life Worship CD and I suddenly felt God's presence all over me. He didn't give me a miraculous change of viewpoint this time, but He gave me something better....He gave me Himself. I ran over a curb turning a corner because I could barely see through my tears. Tears from a heart in love with my Gracious Savior who I will never have figured out and who chases after me sometimes and sometimes sits back and waits for me to come after HIm. I will not let go, Lord. Where else can I go? I have tasted and I have seen and I am hooked..... You are mine and I am your's...wrapped in your most amazing grace.