Laced With Grace

Today’s devotion is written by a dear friend of mine. I truly believe if it were not for Darlene and CWO Magazine, Laced with Grace would not exist. Because of Darlene’s support at the beginning of Laced with Grace, our readership is what it is today. If you have never visited Darlene’s personal site – Darlene Schacht – I encourage you to stop by. Thank you Darlene for your continued support and your friendship…

I tiptoed my way toward the teddy bear crib hoping to steal one last look before going to sleep. Crumpled up in his bed like a kitten slept the little man who was placed in my care. This baby, though only a few months old had already been through the valley of the shadow of death, but by the grace of God he lives—by the stripes of our Savior he’s healed. With such a marvelous glory before me I couldn’t help but to brush his cheek with my hand before leaving.

Standing outside in the hall, I looked down at the palm of my hand, still feeling his warmth. This hand was a familiar one that I had seen somewhere before—adorned with a simple wedding band, marked with a touch of arthritis, and clothed with lines and creases liken to roads of years traveled—what I recognized were the hands of a mother.

A vintage suitcase marked with stamps collected through journeys, my hands have traveled to far away places. Now bursting with riches they can hardly contain, these hands hold a treasure of memories locked deep inside.

They held my own mother’s arms that pulled up my trousers, while I felt the warmth of her breath on my neck. They curiously turned the handle to peer at my father while he undressed for the shower—yes, the same hand that stifled a giggle as I ran from his voice. They held their first cup of milk careful to not spill a drop, and later their first glass of Coke as the bubbles jumped from the cup.

My hands have waved high in the air, hoping that one would be seen and be heard. They’ve held the hands of fair maidens in the kingdom of friendship. They held the hand of new love, and took another in marriage. They’ve placed coins in the hands of the poor, and received coin when times have been rough. They’ve felt the coldness of death and the warmth of a newborn’s first grasp. They’ve reached out in the dark to give and get love.

They’ve pushed the back of a swing that soared through the air, and tied the laces on skates making sure that each leg was tight. They’ve learned to hold on and let go.

Then I see a different pair of hands, but unlike mine, they’ve been scarred from the journey. These hands have held his mothers arms as he felt the warmth of her breath on his neck. They’ve been used to stifle a giggle and place coins in the hand of the poor. They’ve held hands of royal princes in the kingdom of God. They’ve reached out in the dark to give love, and bring life. They felt the coldness of death and the power of life. These hands are familiar ones that I can only imagine to see—the hands of a Savior—my Jesus.

My little man, Graham is seven years old now. Living and breathing against all the odds. I have seen him so near to death that a team of doctors rushed to his crib late at night, and the same child so near to the glory of God that his face reflected the light.

Therein lies the power of life—in the hands of a Savior—my Jesus.

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

Blessings,
Darlene Schacht

Today’s devotion is written by Diane from Partners in Prayer for our Prodigals. If you have never visited Diane I encourage you to stop by her blog today after reading her devotion…

The quiet of this morning is deafening. It should come as no surprise, for September always brings the first day of school. Still, with my husband off to work, and our last child off to his first day of 11th grade, my ears nearly burst from the noise in my head and I have been immobilized by the paralysis of my thoughts.

First days. The first day you send your first child to Kindergarten, the first day of your new job, the first day of married life; first days have a tendency to fill our minds to overflowing with memories and hope for the future.

The old adage, “this is the first day of the rest of your life” should really come with Psalm 118:24 in the tag line: “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” As believers, we have the absolute truth that no matter our first days, it has been made just for us and written in His book (Psalm 139: 16). I don’t know about you, but for me, God’s certain presence always breaks the bonds of any anxiety -induced-paralysis!

Yes, my youngest child is now taller than me and attending his first day of the last two years he will live at home. Isn’t it amazing that no matter how grown up he gets, no matter how many inches taller than Mom he becomes, no matter how deep his voice resonates—he remains my baby forever? His physical stature has outgrown his mother’s lap, but her love will not be diminished by size or circumstance. Our children will never outgrow the love of their Mom!

Sound a lot like God’s love? One of my favorite Bible verses is Ephesians 3: 17b-18: “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” No matter the day in our lives, His love is boundless—we can never outgrow or hide from His love.

So let the silence roar! It is filled with memories of days gone by and hope for the future. Hope for a great school year, a fulfilling career, a fabulous marriage; whatever the first day, God loves us. That, my friends, is reason enough to “Rejoice and be glad!”
May our children’s first steps out the door each day be as blessed as their first baby steps! May we be faithful; may they always know each step that they take is covered in prayer to the One who has each day of their life “written in His book.” May we be reminded that our Heavenly Father loves us and has a divine purpose for each day of our lives.

I would love to hear what God has prepared for you…this first day. Is it a day “rooted and established in love?” Step boldly into this day; walk with the confidence we have in Christ! Throw off the chains of anxiety, uncertainty, and doubt; we can know, yes, we know! “This IS the day the LORD has made!”

Diane

As a little girl I would listen to Donnie Osmond and Shawn Cassidy for hours at a time, on my Holly Hobbie record player. Paper dolls and connecting the dots were lots of fun too. I was thrilled when I got my first pair of metal roller skates, overjoyed with my very own pogo stick, but hands down one of my favorite things of all were those magical paper books. You know the ones I’m talking about. When you picked up one of these books and flipped through its pages, they were blank. Not very impressive at all. But, when you moved the yellow felt tipped pen that came with the book, back and forth, back and forth, over the blank pages, beautiful pictures would be revealed!

While sharing a scripture from the Bible with my children and one of God’s many promises to us, I couldn’t help but think again of those fun little books, and the treasures that would be revealed after I’d move my pen over the crisp white paper. I went on to tell my four children that the Bible is filled with promises that have been made just for them from God, their loving Father, their creator. I went on to share that when they asked God into their hearts, they became His children. His promises were theirs now too. Every single one of them.

I reminded them of the fun little books that I loved as a child, that they too have now played with. I asked them to imagine God’s word as the blank paper and to take their imaginary yellow pen and move across His word and His promises, back and forth, back and forth, until they could clearly see their faces, and their own precious names written with God’s own hand, in each verse. They needed to know that it was each one of them, His children he was thinking of, when He made those promises.

Friends, your face and your name is there on each page and each promise too. God loves you so very much. His word and His promises are infallible, unbreakable and irrevocable. He longs to hold you close and whisper these life giving promises in your ear.

So what are you waiting for? Get out your yellow pen and start moving it back and forth across the pages of His word. Don’t waste another second, start revealing the treasures He has for you, today!

“God is not a man, that he should lie. He is not a human, that he should change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” Numbers 23:19 NLT

In His Love,

Joanne