to a friend...on fear, grief & grace...

To my friend:
One thing I've learned from the San Diego week is that when grief & fear are at their highest pitch...there is far more grace than we can imagine...it's kinda like a dam ready to burst...just a nudge and God breaks out...

And while this does NOT make things easy NOR does it solve things...Jesus' Presence is sweeter the MORE we KNOW just how desperately we need Him!

So I am praying for you to be able to let the FLOOD of Jesus' grace sweep over your soul!

More to my friend:

God’s grace is NOT meant
to make things easy…
Grace is meant as God’s provision
to bring our lives toward
the good,
the holy,
the truly beautiful…
toward Jesus Himself…
so…
it necessarily means
pain, grief, suffering…and
at times protracted periods
of not knowing what will happen next…or
of not seeing the good we have attempted
take root…much less
bear fruit.

It is times like these
Where God’s words to Paul have
Their intended meaning…
“My grace is sufficient…”
“My strength is completed
in your weakness.”

To Jesus:

Lord, for me, this has meant resting
In a place of deepest discomfort…
Of tasting grief carefully
Like a fine wine…
Of peering deeply into things lost to me
With no resolution…
Of facing fear…seeing it
For what it is…then
Looking for You, Lord…in it!

Our weakness
Wedded to Your grace
Brings the ALL-mighty into the cosmos
Acting to make all things
New.
Eventually.
In the meantime…Your grace
Requires our trusting, daily obedience
To have its intended effect
In the here and now.

Lord, You are okay
With that…
How amazing is that?