Grace Story

Since I confessed that my view of grace is one of the greatest lessons God has taught me, I should give some examples from life of what I mean. To be sure, they are more profound to me than they will be to you. But, I will share a few stories in my next few blogs. Grace can be described in all kinds of ways. I can wax theological and spout Greek and quote all kinds of folks who are smarter than me. I would rather attempt to paint a simple picture of when grace was so real that I was captured by God's love. After living in Arizona for about 3 years Lynn and I discovered that we were going to have a baby. We were overwhelmed with joy and excitement. In the first few weeks we lived a constant "high" of anticipation. Our "high" was interrupted by a visit to the doctor and an ultrasound that revealed some concerns. Within a short time our concerns were realized and Lynn suffered a miscarriage. The best description for me is that of a roller coaster. After you climb the hill to the highest point, you plunge to the deepest valley and it all happens so rapidly. Even though a decade has passed, the plunge is still very real to me. Lynn and I were 2000 miles away from our family and we were hurting. On Wednesday night after the miscarriage Lynn was home resting and I went to our Bible study. I really didn't want to be there. I really didn't want to have to share the news. We hadn't told anyone at the church what had happened. When I walked through the door, Cecil Bledsoe met me in the small sanctuary where a few people had begun to gather. (Brother Bledsoe was a retired pastor in his eighties who was one of the first people I met when I started the church). When Cecil approached me he quickly discerned that something was wrong and put his arm around me and asked the others around to pray for Lynn and me. Cecil Bledsoe's arm was the arm of God comforting me. The small group of people at the Bible study became the comfort of God for us. The comfort that God delivered to both of us in the next few hours is hard to describe. The pain did not disappear, but we had a clear sense that whatever help we needed to make it through our pain would be provided. That day God helped define grace for me. Grace does not erase our pain. Grace does not change our past. Grace does not guarantee the absence of difficulty tomorrow, not by a long shot. My simple understanding of grace is that God will provide what I need to get through. The 23rd Psalm says that when we are in the "valley of the shadow of death", God will be there too. Grace always exists in a contrast. When Grace is present, there are always shadows. There is always a backdrop of death. For example, the Bible verse most often quoted about God's grace states that it is "by grace you are saved". Our need for salvation is a reminder that God finds us in critical need of rescue from a dire situation. But, grace is enough.