The Light of Grace

I have started reading Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus, by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson and I have to say, I am in love with this book.

I was raised in a church that, even though we say we are not a works based faith, it has become apparent to me that in reality, we are. I was raised to believe that we have to be nice enough for God. Good enough for God. Kind enough. Help others enough. Can't miss services for anything other than a serious illness. Ya know, those kinds of things.

Recently, we have made a change in our place of worship. It was one of the hardest decisions that I have wrestled with in my adulthood. We had many friends at that church. Both our families are mulit-generation Church of Christ. It is all we have ever known.

What would our families think? Would they be mad? Hurt? Confused? Feel like they have failed in some way? Would friends still be our friends?

After much much prayer and searching, we felt convicted that it was time for us to leave what we were familiar with. We felt called to be worshipping somewhere else. As we gave our decision a voice, I felt a burden lift.

And you know what....some people were disappointed. Some people have withdrawn their friendship.
But it's not about them. It's about God. And getting out of his way and letting him work in our lives and seeing just how deeply we have of a need for Christ to be the center on our lives. To see the depravity of my worldly self and how that should drive me no where but to the arms of Jesus.

I have begun to see the grace of God in a whole new light.

I have begun to see that it is okay that I'm not perfect. That I don't always make good choices. That I don't always demonstrate self-control. I should try, definitely, but I don't have to beat myself up that I didn't do it right or that I never will.

I have begun to see that it isn't about me...ever.

I have begun to see that it never was about me.

I have begun to see that it is all about God's grace and Jesus' sacrifice gives me a beauty I never knew that I possessed.