grace, weekly // 4

 

i. a countdown in the double digits.

ii. utterly gorgeous engagement photos by my favorite auntie-in-law, and all the projects I’m going to make with them (let’s just say I could keep Shutterfly in business for quite awhile!).

iii. these two “silsters.” They make my life so much fun, and I’m so thankful for their involvement in all this crazy wedding planning stuff!

iv. a strong, (currently) healthy body that can do lots of the things that I ask it to.

I’ve spent a lot of my life sick, injured, or in some otherwise infirm condition—but even so, sometimes I forget what a blessing a healthy body really is. This week I will walk 15-20 miles on my own two feet—no crutches. This week I will do workout DVDs with Jillian and not be wiped out from a recent sickness. This week I will haul hay to my horses, go riding, play with my littlest sister, and breathe clean fresh air. I am blessed.

v. God’s protective hand.

Not going to delve into the details (one’s own close calls aren’t usually as interesting to others as they are to oneself), but it really has been a week of God’s grace. When I think of the “might have beens,” I am so overwhelmed with thankfulness. Imagine—every moment that I draw a new breath is a might-have-been. There’s no good reason why I’m sitting here in my living room, safe and sound, breathing properly, with my family safe around me—no reason except God’s grace.

And I’m at a loss for a picture to put here. He is hard enough to put into words—the most abstract paintbrush I possess—let alone capture in one image. Every beautiful landscape I can think to photograph is nothing more than a single pixel in the immense portrait of His goodness.

vi. the reflection of pink sunrise light on the mountain snow.

vii. when my horses greet me in the early light, nickering hints of mist from their nostrils.

viii. music:

This is one of my favorite bands, and one of my favorite songs. A little screamo, maybe, but I have never heard a song that embodied the plea of a rotting soul to a holy God better than this one does.

ix. words:

Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.
- C. S. Lewis

x . Bible:

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:23, 24

If I had to choose a favorite passage of Scripture, this would be it. Over the past year and more, as I’ve sought after a true knowledge of my God, I have been learning that the only thing of real value in the world is Him. As Pastor Randy said once: “Your true wealth is only what you have that money can’t buy and death can’t steal.”

This life is temporary. Everything in it is temporary. My relationship with God is the lifeblood of my real, everlasting wealth—without Him I lack eternal life, eternal relationships with other Christians, and eternal reward for any righteousness I might have through Him. Without Him I am nothing.

 

 

 

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