Grace for Daily Living

“Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

I think we have this beautiful picture of grace and then condemn ourselves for being human.

A few months ago Steve confessed to our pastor that he “lost it” with the kids…by raising his voice, losing his temper, etc. He literally wept at the altar, confessing his shortcomings to our pastor. He was broken and spilled out, on bended knee. Max (our pastor and dear friend) looked at my hubs and basically said, “You think I haven’t done that?” It was a beautiful “AHA” moment and caused me to think about what moments of grace look like in our daily lives.

I didn’t realize how much apologizing is involved in parenting. I’m no expert, but I think it’s healthy to apologize for mistakes to other human beings, including your children. I fail on a daily basis, but I’m not a failure. I dust myself off, apologize to my spouse (or kids) and learn from that experience. When I see my three-year-old apologize on his own, I realize that he is learning a good habit from the simple ways I deal with my mistakes.

That’s what grace looks like, aside from altar calls and prayer benches. Grace is available, daily, moment-by-moment to wash over us, bandage our wounds, and empower us to try again. Grace is so much more than “just” that, at it’s very core, so please don’t read into this–I’m not trying to take away from what Jesus Christ did for all of us at the Cross–the very center of Grace is the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, but in the blue jeans and boots daily living, that grace is a constant friend, a positive push; Grace is taking a “Mommy time out”, walking away, and knowing that your kids are still going to love you in the morning.

Grace is messy,

Lindsey