Enough for Today: Grace Line by Line

I have a large wooden sign in my bedroom, which continually reminds me,  “Just enough grace for today.” When I saw it out of the corner of my eye in a home goods store, I knew it was for me. I had not asked for a sign—literal or figurative—but I was blessed with one. All my life I had been what I call a “rusher”: from early childhood being valued for working hard and accomplishing what was expected. God knew my rushing must change to trusting. As health issues have prevented rushing and forced retirement, I have been blessed to learn to trust the Lord to send His grace—enough for the needs of each day.

Grace to Trust

“Grace” has been viewed from many perspectives. I love how Dieter F. Uchtdorf  refers to it as “a powerful expression of [God’s] love—the divine assistance and endowment of strength by which we grow from the flawed and limited beings we are now into exalted beings.”

Elder Uchtdorf continued, “Throughout our lives, God’s grace bestows temporal blessings and spiritual gifts that magnify our abilities and enrich our lives. His grace refines us. His grace helps us become our best selves.” ¹

For students at Brigham Young University, Tracy Y. Browning was more specific as she described tuning in to a “spiritual frequency” enabling us to “notice what God wants us to notice, and to be sensitive to the spiritual significance of our experiences.” ²

Many of us are rushing so fast attempting to find meaning in our lives that we miss the frequency that can guide us to what we need most—grace enough for us to move toward what He wants us to do and, above all, to become.

I’ve been blessed with a church calling in which I can serve God using skills and talents He has helped me find and develop over the years (rushing and otherwise). Now that I’m able to find the important frequency, I feel His grace guiding me to understand and complete what He wants me to do and giving me the strength and energy required to do it.

Grace as Relationship 

Grace is not something we merely ask for and wait to receive. As my friend Brad Wilcox has written, “Like love, grace recognizes—even requires—a relationship.”  He explained, “It seems incomplete to receive a gift and not be able to respond in a way that the giver would appreciate.”

Brad mentioned the vine-branch relationship taught by Jesus:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)

Brad concluded, “In this reciprocal relationship, His expectation is that I accept the grace He offers—that I welcome it, grow, and pass it on.” ³ This is enough for building our relationship.

God knows how we have responded to and used the grace He has given. Verbal thanks can be given in prayer; vine-branches thanks are communicated in appreciation and use.

 Grace Enough for Today

One of Brad’s sayings repeats itself in my mind: “When the Lord said, ‘My grace is sufficient,” He meant it.” We receive grace differently, in ways He knows are best for us. I know people who have demanding and far-reaching responsibilities; they receive frequent revelation and seem to have boundless energy. I am not one of them.

The Lord blesses me with grace “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” (2 Nephi 28:30)—enough for each day. Of course each day is not easy—days aren’t meant to be.

For example, I know what “stupor of thought” means (see Doctrine and Covenants 8). When my great ideas aren’t, my mind seems to spin in circles. Sometimes I experience what I call “stupor by computer.”  My computer is inclined to drop, hide, or find some way to distort something I’m not supposed to use. After unreasonable struggling with it, I get the message.

Then there are the non-serious health issues that won’t kill anyone, but cause irritating disabilities at the worst times. Lack of humility and patience are among my major weaknesses, and I need weakness to fight these weaknesses—another form of day-by-day grace I recognize.

Grace doesn’t mean an end to temptations, frustrations, mistakes, disappointments, failures, sicknesses, pain, and other problems of mortality. The Savior’s grace strengthens us and guides us as we learn to cope with them.

One Step for Me

One of my favorite poems is also a favorite hymn: “Lead Kindly Light” by John Henry Newman. At a time of physical illness and spiritual uncertainty, he was inspired to share what he received from God.

Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom; / Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home; / Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet, I do not ask to see / The distant scene—one  step enough for me.

The third and final verse delivers power and perspective:

So long thy power hath blest me, sure it still / Will lead me on
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till / The night is gone.

Moors, fens, crags, and torrents are not smooth, easy places to cross. The author knows that the Lord may lead him into difficult, dangerous situations, but His  power and His kindly light still lead, and the night will pass.

Grace enough for each day and His gentle light are enough for me.

(Image by Bierstadt/Wikimedia Commons)