GRACE

Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Dearest Ladies,

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!
Smile!

G.R.A.C.E.

Grace makes the world go 'round....

Without grace, all would be consumed in a 'dog eat dog' kind of world.

God is the grand exemplar of grace. The Lord extended to us love and grace in place of what we really deserved. Our Heavenly Father demonstrated that love covers a multitude of sins. Our Lord illustrated the sufficiency of His grace.

God proved that love and grace never fail when Christ was born in a lowly stable. God proved that love and grace never fail when Christ ascended into Heaven. God continues to prove that love and grace never fail as He daily chisels us into His prized workmanship.

Some argue that God's gift of salvation or His grace is free. And, to some extent it is. Salvation or grace is free in that we could never satisfy the initial payment nor we could ever repay God for it. Moreover, we were never deserving of His grace. And, even after a lifetime of works and service, we are still undeserving. We could NEVER, EVER, EVER become recipients of God's grace on our merit alone. So, grace is free in that it was freely given to us as we could never earn it. But, grace is hardly free.

Truthfully, Jesus paid a hefty price for the dispensation of grace that so beautifully characterizes our lives. Also, God made an enormous sacrifice in order for us to be set free from the oppressive, fatal wages of sin. Although a down payment was not required of us, as we grow and mature in the Lord we should eventually realize that grace costs us a handsome price as well.

Because God bestows immeasurable grace upon us, we must be bearers of immeasurable grace. The unbeliever can choose a lifetime of unforgiveness, resentment, anger, bitterness, hate, and revenge. It's a choice that's full of morbid consequences. Nevertheless, unbelievers can choose that course. We, on the other hand, may initially grapple with all manner of strong emotions and disgust after divorce. But, God doesn't want us to linger in the toxic, murky, unfruitful waters of the soul's poisons. Someone once said, "holding on to unforgiveness is likened to drinking poison but hoping someone else dies." Ladies, we can't afford to wallow in misery and self-medicate with poison. God wants so much more for us.

Divorce and life post-divorce can be very, very hard and painful. Post-divorce struggles with income, housing, life and health insurances and outstanding debt from legal work can make us very upset and bitter. News of an ex-husband's new girlfriend or new wife can cause us to seethe with anger and frustration. Having our children shuffled back n' forth every other holiday can make us irritable and miserable. Or perhaps, observation of our exes starting lives anew and fathering additional kids (when we can barely get by on child support), can catapult us into a visceral, anxious, hate-filled existence. Typically, we struggle with abandonment and it's lethal attack on our hearts and egos. But, often when our exes appear immediately successful or seem so quickly able to rebound, we can experience post-traumatic stress. We often wonder how they could desert us and then so easily move on. Then, we lambast ourselves for not being able to bounce back as smoothly and swiftly. "Why? Why? Why?" we ask.

If we're not careful, we can cripple our chances for renewal and restoration. It's tempting to rehearse all of our hurts, frustrations, and disappointments. But, if we daily stir up and feed upon negative experiences and memories, then we risk being enslaved to the past and distanced from reality and a favorable, bright future.

It's only natural that we feel hurt and angry after divorce. Anger is a self-preservation aid. Anger fuels us with energy and adrenaline; we are driven to protect and defend ourselves against all harm. However, godly anger will eventually subside and we must navigate forward after it wanes. Anger is healthy when we subscribe to it in healthy doses and in healthy ways.

We have to resist stoking the flames of anger. We have to resist fueling and cultivating anger after its 'normal' range of expression has passed. We must work through our anger and all those things that negatively trigger it.

As recipients of God's amazing grace, our lives are marked by love. Love resides in our hearts. However, love and mercy can't live in our hearts alongside anger, malice, hatred, vengeance, and bitterness. Love and hate cannot co-exist in our hearts; neither can light and darkness. Eventually, hate will choke love. And, darkness will soon strangle all rays of light.

Sisters, we must guard our hearts!!!!

The price of receiving God's grace is our dutiful obligation to extend grace to others, including ourselves. Surely, we must engage in a process to 'bounce back' from hurt and harm. But, in the aftermath, we must chose life, love, forgiveness and healing. We are called to be bearers of God's grace.

Being a bearer of God's grace is beneficial to others but, we benefit as well. When we extend grace to those that don't deserve our forgiveness, we are set free from mental and emotional prisons. We also are able to reflect an image of God in a lost and hopeless world. Ultimately, we bring honor and glory to God, when we extend grace. As the Bible admonishes us, let's allow grace to greatly abound where sin abounds.

Jesus makes us worthy of God's grace. But, if we never extend grace, we will NEVER feel worthy of God's love and grace. Without "feeling" God's grace, we will feel unworthy. Without extending grace so that others can "feel" God's grace, we feel more unworthy. Consequently, low self-worth will cause us to reject God's influence and impact on our lives. We must resist and rise above the snares that rob us of experiencing God's grace and extending it to others. We must be gracious to others.

HAPPY GRACING sisters!

NOTHING and NO ONE is worth us living a life of fear, hatred, and unforgiveness!!!!

Let's continue to resolve the issues of our hearts so that we can love liberally and generously ALL those that don't deserve our love and grace....

We are most like Christ when we live and act as He did!!!!!

Love and blessings to all

Hugs