Women’s Devotion: Grace
“GRACE. Pure grace is the smell of soap and water, a cold deep breath on a snowy day, the best summer morning you have ever known, the one white t-shirt that feels better than all the rest.”
The dreaded visit to the restroom on a commercial airliner at 35,000 feet. Hardly spacious enough to enter but necessary on a long flight. As I step in, my eyes are immediately drawn to a soap dispenser with “GRACE” written in large letters. I scrutinize the two sentences below and am astounded that God’s grace has found me at 35,000 feet above the earth! In moments like these, I am filled with awe at God’s presence in my life. His grace.
This past year my Grace Group has been studying One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. We have been challenged to “dare to live fully, right where we are”. As we studied the pages, Ann led us to wake up each day to God’s everyday blessings. The veil has been lifted and we now see with eyes wide open giving thanks for the smallest of gifts. An iced drink on a hot day, a green traffic light, children’s laughter, clean sheets
Yes, it is easy to say we are thankful, but to name the gift takes it one step further and gives us an attitude of life-changing gratitude. We have often read Ephesians 5:20, “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” By naming the gift, we find the joy. Ann states that “when I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me. This, I think, is the other side of prayer.”
As we savor these lazy days of summer, let us apply a microscopic eye to unearth God’s gifts and name them. Start a list and see how far it takes you. You will find God’s grace in the strangest places blessing you, just as I discovered at 35,000 feet.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Remove the blinders from my eyes that I might behold the glorious bounty of gifts you faithfully shower on me. May I never get so busy that I neglect the wonder of your everyday blessings in my life.
Amen.
This devotion was written by Janece Nelson one of Sheridan’s Women’s Ministry Team members, as a way to bring encouragement to the hearts and minds of our sisters in Christ to KNOW, LOVE and SERVE God.