Grace upon Grace

"Trials must and will befall,

But with humble faith to see

LOVE inscribed upon them all,

This is Happiness to me."

--W. Cowper

I think I may have started too many books this summer.  But yet, is that even possible?  In this RA/fibro-fog life, my mind seems to crave more words than normal.  As if filling up the foggy areas with one more dose of Holy might just help me remember a little longer. 

So the started-but-not-yet-finished stack of books on my Kindle and on my table has me feeling like a child-at-Christmas-time again. So much JOY just waiting for me to partake.  But there was a time when unfinished books left me in a state of stress because each one was just one more task that I was not finishing on time.  How did I move from a place of stress to one of joy?  I want to know because maybe there is a lesson to be learned here, to apply to other areas of my life.

What if I could see LOVE written all over my unfinished chores, and weakened states?  What if those trials became Grace-just-waiting-to-happen as I changed my place of viewing? I have prayed so often, "Jesus I need your mercy and your grace here!" but what if the Grace is stacked up on the table, already waiting for me to partake?

Instead of bemoaning my lack of baking and cooking strength-- what if I saw my daily Crock-pot-Meal as Grace given for this day?

Instead of staring at the weeds overtaking the paths through my little front-yard woods trail--what if I saw those rugged areas as my very own Grace-filled-nature-preserve set in front of my eyes?

And instead of dreary-filled-thoughts of slowed-down-days--what if I tasted the Grace of time given to savor Jesus, alone with Him?

"For out of His fullness (the superabundance of His grace and truth) we have all received grace upon grace (spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift.)" John 1:16--The Amplified Version

I have been returning to Joy Lenton's book, Seeking Solace, again and again lately.  I even quoted a portion of this poem to my counselor last week:

Set Me Free

"Set me free

I no longer want 

to be ensared

by the chains 

of my past, or

held fast by fear

for the future

Set me free

to fly uncaged

in the current

of your grace,

releasing all I am

and can be

into your embrace."

As I left my counselor's office, she said to me, "When I think of you now, I'm going to picture you floating in a pool of Grace." So, flying or floating, there is a freedom that I seek.

Instead of gripping the past with hands too weak to hold on any longer--my Jesus has gifted me with the Grace to open my hands and receive HIS JOY,  enough for this day.

The rough-edged nature trail as viewed from my deck.

I am linking this week with some wonderful bloggers over at #TellHisStory  with Jennifer Dukes Lee,
 and  #TeaAndWord  with Meg Weyerbacher  and #ChronicFridayLinkup  at Being Fibro Mom. Won't you join me?