God's "G"race

Life is full of moments.  Some happier, some more difficult.  Some moments that take your breath away and some that the images will never leave your mind.  And all those moments are covered by the grace God gives us.  "God is always sufficient in perfect proportion to our need."- Beth Moore

I was scrolling through my memories on Facebook on this day and remembering moments in my life.  Most of them happy moments with family and friends and then I came across a moment from nine years ago.  As soon as I read the memory, I was taken right back to that hospital room with my Dad.  I know I've shared before how my Dad had heart surgery in 2009.  What was supposed to be routine surgery was anything but.  Within 24 hours after Dad's surgery, he ended up in a medical induced coma because he kept "coding out" and his heart would go into a weird rhythm and not beat correctly.  I read the memory on Facebook and in an instant, I was right there, in the room with my Mom.  God covered that day and that series of events. 

I can remember sitting next to the bed with my Dad counting down the minutes until he was allowed to have Jello.  Mom was sitting next to me and we were all discussing what flavor of Jello Dad might want.  I  had a book on my lap that I had been reading and when I looked down at the pages, the words were gone.  In place of the words there were images, like an old movie being played.  There were flashing lights, alarms, nurses everywhere and my Mom and I hiding in the corner.  I saw myself kicking a chair out of the way in the images and the fear in my Mom's eyes of the unknown.  And then I blinked and it happened in real life.

Within moments, Dad starting jerking and gasping.  Alarms went off.  Blue lights starting flashing.  I could hear the announcement going off in the hall, "Code Blue".  Every time I blinked the room filled up with more nurses and doctors.  And then I realized I had kicked a chair out of the way and was standing in a corner with my Mom.  All we could see was Dad's body jerking on the table as they zapped him several times with the paddles.  Dad's doctor came in and started pulling out tubes and disconnecting the pieces and parts monitoring my Dad.  And then there was silence.

I can remember the fear in my Mom's eyes, just as I had seen in the images on my book.  I didn't share this experience with anyone except my husband for the longest time.  It sounds like a fabricated story, I know.  But the more I've thought about it, the more I realize, it was God's grace.  God was already aware of what was going to happen and because of His love for my family, He gave me a glimpse of what was to come so that I would be strong through Him.

God is intensely interested in being completely involved and intervening in each and every

circumstance in our lives.  Not a moment goes by that He doesn't know about.  And that fact alone should flash neon lights to you...God is covering you in grace.  God is IN all the situations of your life.  God is with you regardless. 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

2 Corinthians 12:9a

God's grace gives us strength for all the moments in our lives.  God's grace covers us as sinners and allows us eternity with Jesus. God's grace is a gift.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

How amazing that we have a Father who looks after His children in such a way that He provides all we need when we simply place our faith in him.  My heart still races at the memory of those images on the pages of my book that day.  I can still hear it all as if those alarms were just now going off.  But God gave me such a gift that day, and not just the gift of knowing what was about to happen so that I could be strong for my Mom and for myself, but God gave me my Dad back healed and whole.  God directed the doctors to know what to do to heal Dad so that after 11 days in a coma, he was awakened and within just a few weeks after that, was home.

I could not imagine my life without the grace that God gives me.  Through His grace I am forgiven, loved, provided mercy, seen as righteous and promised eternal salvation.  Is there any other way to live? 

I invite you, if you don't know Jesus, you are missing out on a life full of love.  Dad wasn't saved because he was perfect. I was given those images because I'm God's favorite.  No, we are all living an imperfect life everyday.  We are all sinners but that is the beauty of the cross, you can come as you are and in God's perfect grace, He will make you perfect through Him. 

"The more we depend on God, the more dependable we find He is."- Cliff Richard.  We need to remember that we are insufficient.  We need to live a a life completely reliant on God knowing that He is sufficient enough.   It is in those moments when we see ourselves as insufficient that we realize just how great our God is and just how much He loves us. 

The grace of our lord Jesus Christ be with you. 1 Thessalonians 5:28