Amazing Grace for Lucy

Amazing Grace for Lucy

Grace? What is grace? Grace is the kind behavior shown to us when we do not deserve it. The most amazing grace is God's grace which we are told is sufficient for our needs (2 Cor. 12: 7-10, Gal. 1: 15). Man is saved by grace, the heart is established by grace, and we are justified by grace (Eph. 2: 5, 8, Heb. 13: 9, Tit. 3: 7). All this is God's part.

Faith on the other hand is our responsibility. John 6:29 tells us that faith or belief itself is a work. In other words, it is active and obedient (James 2: 19-26). What happens when we have been active and/or obedient and things still are happening as we thought they should?Sometimes we just do not have the answers.  Remember Lucy Ricardo? She always found that her well meant solutions to solving her problems usually resulted in less favorable answers. More times than not her problems were magnified. I know that circumstances and situations regardless the cause can bring us to the place that we do not know how we can move on - our faith becomes weak and we feel hopeless.

Not so long ago I found myself in a seemingly hopeless situation. I was depressed to say the least. The kind of depressed that causes me to migrate to my chair, curl up in my fetal position, wrap myself in a blanket as well as all the other things that brought me to that position. It is horrible, it is sick, and I hate it. What does hopeless and depression look like? The director of Lord of the Rings, knew what a hopeless, depressed state looks like. SMEAGOL/GOLLUM. If you are not familiar with them, then watch this clip. (not s0 pretty)



You know, Satan would have me and you remain in such a desperate state. BUT then I looked up and I saw a candle holder with the etching, HOPE. It hit me that I was acting as a person without hope. It was hope that I needed. At that moment I heard the voice of my heavenly Father speak oh so softly to me, yes God still speaks to people. "Patsy, 'Be STILL and KNOW that I AM GOD.' " "I AM your HOPE." I felt a feeling of peace come over me. Did my circumstances change? No. However, I was once again reminded that I cannot be God, for myself or those in my life, and no human can give me that which only God can provide. As I sought God and focused on him I was able to approach the situation with hope.

There is a prayer I often quote, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; and Wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time...Enjoying one moment at a time; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him, Forever in the next. Amen."

There is much truth to this prayer, for there are some things we cannot do alone, we must turn it over to God. Seek his presence and allow Him to work out the way. I have a song that I sing, "In the Presence of Jehovah." If you want to hear it, Chonda Pierce can sing it for you.



Each time that I have felt discouraged in the past, that God's grace was just not enough, I realized that the problem was not God's grace but that I had moved to far away from Him to feel his presence. Even though, I am slower at times than others in returning, I now know to move back into His presence, and there I will again find that His Grace is sufficient for my needs, and in the process He will restore my hope. To all the Lucy's out there: Your hope is in the Lord.

How has God spoken to you during a hopeless situation? Will you share your story?

Bitter or Better

It's Christmas and it's time to celebrate the birth of Christ. Seeing how the world focuses on consumerism instead of mimicking the life of Jesus makes me wonder, "Do we really believe that Jesus was the Son of God?" The answer to that question for Christians will determine how we respond to the problems we face in life. 

Yet despite our faith, "standing on the promises of God" is often easier said than done.  Let's be honest, how many of us profess from the mountaintop that Jesus is truly the Son of God - the one that actually cares for us and comes to us - when we are in the middle of tough times? But as Christians we are told to go, and by faith we do go, to Jesus to find hope. 

Having lived 55 years, I have learned that the world is filled with hate, hurting, sadness, fear, depression, hunger, sickness, death, disaster, and violence. As a Christian, I've had to ask myself, "How am I going to react when I'm confronted with these realities?" The bottom line is that however I react, "my true colors will come shining through." As a mother this very fact has helped me form how I have reacted to situations around my family. I've had to ask myself, "Is there a way I can show my son and husband a hope filled grief rather than a hopeless grief?" 

Max Lucado, in his book, For these Tough Times, gave insight to some possible answers to life's hardships when everything seems to be falling apart. As I've learned over the years and how he reminded me, trials bring us to a fork in the road, they make us either bitter or better. Lucado challenged me to reach toward heaven for hope and healing. Yet as a Christian, where else would our hope come from, but the Lord - the maker of heaven and earth.

I know it's late in the season, but if you have a loved one who has experienced some hard time and may need a lift, this book would be a great gift for Christmas. It's small (only 83 pages) and it's the perfect size for any Christmas stocking.

Enjoy!