Better Late than Never
I’ve felt the pull to Blog for quite awhile….for a lot of different reasons I guess. But I have been thinking about passing along the knowledge I’ve accumulated over 40 years of being saved and all that God has shown me, revealed to me, corrected me about and taught me and continues to teach me. Was that just for me? Could others be helped and encouraged with all of that too? So…. Grace for the Journey will be the result of just that. The grace and wisdom I continue to receive in this journey called Life.
In reality we should all be able to eat from the plate of our fellow sojourners in this life: learning, growing and failing together. Our journey isn’t one of one assent after the other until we reach some mystical place of perfection. If that’s your idea of what this Christian journey will look like, please spare yourself the heartache and know that no one reaches that on this side of Heaven. It looks more like a path of hills, valleys, and detours with many scraped knees along the way that ends only when our life here does.
God doesn’t expect perfection from us any more than we as parents expect that from our children. What He does expect is that no matter how many times we fail and fall down that we get up and keep going. We get lost along the way when we quit, when we give up and decide to stay where we are, and status quo wins the day. I get it though, sometimes it just feels too hard to keep going, to get back up and try again, to forgive one more time the same person who insists on being a spur under your saddle…we all have that person in our lives!!
But just as we smile and brag on our babies as they attempt to walk even though that process contains a lot more falling down than actual walking, we couldn’t be more proud of that little toddler as they just keep getting back up and they keep trying. I believe our Father is the same sort of parent, watching us mess up AGAIN but coming to us with outstretched arms wanting to help as we stagger to get back up and keep going in our journeys. I love that about Him.
So if I’ve learned anything in my journey I’ve learned that we need each other. We were never meant to do life alone. We were made for community. We all have different gifts and knowledge that could help another but too many times we live our lives only thinking of ourselves; our own needs or goals. Or worse yet we are too stubborn to listen to someone who’s been where we are and has information that could help us. Pride gets in the way of taking advice or counsel we desperately need. Pride and the Christian life CAN NOT co-exist, better to learn that up front sweetheart because God will use everything He can to crush pride from your very soul, count on it. You either humble yourself or He humbles you. Tip: it’s much easier to do it yourself because humility His way usually comes through humiliation. So as the Holy Spirit teaches and feeds me please feel free to eat off of my plate as I begin this journey of transparency in my own life, sharing it with you. I’m thankful to have you along for the ride…