Laced With Grace

(Reposting this entry from my Tea with Tiffany blog. I wrote this in 2005 but the idea is still true today!)

Recently, my mind flashed back to something my daughter said years ago.

One night, my husband, my son, and I were about to watch The Lord of the Rings in the family room. So I set up a movie for my five-year-old daughter, Hannah, in my bedroom. She wasn’t thrilled. She wanted to stay with us. I told her I loved her and that she needed to go watch her movie now.

Hannah cried and said, “I know you say you love me, but you don’t show me you love me.”

Words that echo in my heart and still haunt me to this day.

I asked her what she meant. She said love is giving her hugs and kisses. I never knew her love language was affection until then. Obviously, I missed the mark. After that, I made a conscious effort give her xxxooo’s. She never brought it up again.

I wonder. Do I say I love my family and not show them—still? My husband and I tell our son all the time, “Actions speak louder than words.” We want him to show us he cares about his grades by applying himself, doing his best, and studying. Saying it is not enough.

How many times do I say “I love you, Lord,” and then go about my day, ignoring Him and living according to my pleasure? What do my actions say to God? Or my family? My friends? Does my life show love? Or am I just lip service?

Life is not easy. It takes effort to show love no matter what your love language. (Service, quality time, words of affirmation, affection, gifts. Based on the book The Five Love Languages.) Sometimes I’m all talk. I’m tired. Stressed. I do what is necessary, but without love.

But God asks me to die to myself daily; be a servant and an example. This is a daily battle. However whenever I do walk with God, living out His love, I find gifts and treasures I never expected.

Loving is always worth the sacrifice.

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.”

Psalm 103:11

One of my fondest memories with my daughter Laura occurred here in the mountains in the late 1990′s. She and I had just built a fire ring by the side of the creek at our cabin. It was a cool, crisp April evening, our first fire was going in the fire ring, and the sky was radiant with stars. We decided we just couldn’t go inside to sleep, this was too special a moment. I went inside, grabbed two sleeping bags and pillows and we stayed up most of the night just praising God in song, reading Scripture and praying. All this as we watched the stars slowly revolve over our heads.

God’s lovingkindess towards us is as high as the heavens are above the earth. When I think about the vast canopy above me that is filled with more stars then we could possibly ever count, I can’t help but bless the Lord for loving me with a love that is so vast.

How much does He love us?  Take a look.


The God of the universe, the One who made all the stars and galaxies, made the tree that this cross was made from…and  “although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.” (Philippians. 2:6-8)

This is how much He loves you and me!  His matchless grace and lovingkindness is everywhere.

Long before you even gave Him a thought, He knew exactly how He would demonstrate His love to you.  And that was to NOT give you what your sins deserved. But He gave His Son what your sins deserved. And to give you the gift of Himself. And an invitation to live forever with Him.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, would not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16  

He unconditionally loves you.
A few years ago astronomers decided to study one of their favorite objects in space, The Whirlpool Galaxy.  They kept zooming in to get a closer look at their darling. What they saw in the very center of the galaxy is pictured below. I promise you, this is an unaltered photo I took directly from the NASA website called Astronomy Picture of the Day.  Scientists call it the X Structure in the core of the Whirlpool Galaxy.

I’m not here to make a scientific case, but I will tell you it’s huge. The beams reach 1100 light years across and the diameter of the beams is 100 light years. (A light year is equal to 5.88 TRILLION miles!) You can call it the X Structure in the core of the Whirlpool Galaxy, or you can call it a cross. But, could it be “Jesus, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8)  It could just be a coincidence.  But isn’t it amazing!  31 million light years away, this has been beaming all across the heavens since creation.

What are you facing? Depression, divorce, abandonment, shame, guilt, loneliness, wrongly accused, cancer, bankruptcy, or the darkness of death itself. There is NOTHING that can shake you out of the hand of God. He is not only holding the whole universe in the palm of His hand, He is holding you. His lovingkindness and grace is enough to hold onto you and to bring you through it all.

Father, Your love leaves me dumbfounded. The vastness of Your love towards me I can’t even grasp. But I come before You today rejoicing in Your goodness. Even when times are dark, You are good. Thank You, Father that You love me too much to let me go. I trust You completely.

I Love You.

Your Humbly Grateful Daughter,

http://marshahmusings.blogspot.com

Thanks to Louie Giglio of Passion Conferences for some of the information contained in this post.

Do you ever struggle with praying? 

Ever wonder if you are “doing it right?” 

Are there times when you wonder WHAT you should pray for? 

Are there times when you feel “down” or just “not yourself?”

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints (that means you and me), in accordance with God’s will.”-Romans 8:26 

There are times when I feel lonely or sad or depressed.  I’m not sure why, or even if there is something wrong.  Those are the times that I continually go back to that scripture and ask the Spirit to intercede for me, to pray for me because God knows my heart better than I know my heart.  He created me.  God knows what I need and what I desire, even before I do.  The Spirit will search your heart and reveal to you what you need to pray. 

There are often times that God calls to us.  He wants US to seek Him out- to go to Him.  He wants a relationship with us.  We are programmed at birth to need him.  God has placed eternity in our hearts and we have a space within our hearts that only God can fill.  I am reminded of college life when I would get so lonely and homesick at times I would call home just to hear the sound of my mom’s voice.  I physically felt a longing, a yearning.  That is how we are with God because we are His creation.  Our souls yearn for God and there is a yearning inside of us to grow close to our Creator.  David says in Psalm 63, “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”    

You may think that you have to be a minister or this magnificent person to pray.  You may think you have to use lofty, eloquent words.  You may not quite be sure HOW God wants you to pray.  You may think there is a magic formula to prayer or a set of rules.

But prayer simply FLOWS from a natural relationship with God. Praying is just a relationship with God- loving Him and going to Him for everything.  There isn’t a right way or a wrong way to pray. Praying shouldn’t’ be difficult.  It shouldn’t be something we only do for a few minutes on Sunday morning.  It shouldn’t be a chore or an inconvenience.  Prayer should be a JOY- we are communicating with The Most High God!  We GET this opportunity to grow closer to our Abba, our Father God, our Creator.  Prayer is simply TALKING and listening to our best friend, our ever-present, loving, LISTENING God!

Father, thank You that I can come to You at any time with anything.  Thank You that when I seek You with all my heart, You will be found by me!  Help me God to come to You FIRST.  Help me to honestly share my heart with You, God.  Thank You that when I don’t even know how or what to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes FOR me!  Lord, I love You!  In Jesus’ Name I pray.  Amen!

                                                                                                                                                 Please visit me at my personal blog!