Grace. When you think of this word many things may come to mind; the grace your parents gave you the first time you broke curfew, and decided not to ground you, the grace your friend showed you after you really hurt their feelings but they still forgave you, or the grace you received from your significant other after you canceled a dinner date you had planned for a month due to work. This past week though, the Lord showed me a new kind of grace.
Every week in Thailand I have dealt with a new issue. Whether it was headaches, stomachaches, or body aches. With all of this I grew very weary, and very homesick. I longed for the comforts of home, and I felt as though the Lord couldn’t give me a break. Then about a week and a half ago we found out I had lice. I had to bag up my sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and pillow pet. All of the little comfort I had was gone. I was left on the floor with a sheet, pillow, and no comfort. It was as I sat in a small coffee shop reading my bible, that it hit me that the Lord had shown me grace. By taking away those comforts, I realized how he had blessed me with these tiny comforts. He showed me I hadn’t been grateful for those comforts, and by showing me that, he gave me grace. I realized I shouldn’t long for those comforts of home because he will provide me with the comfort I need. It took him stripping away those things, and leaving me with a scratchy head, and constant lice treatment for me to realize this. Grace from the Lord doesn’t always come the way you expect it to, but it is always there.
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you”
~1 Peter 5:10
Expect a new blog Friday,
Claire
