I liked the beach better last time. It was full-sun with clean water and fresh sand. The beach was strewn with partial sand-dollars, with many nearly whole ones. It was a beautiful beach combing day and the girls had fun jumping in the waves. But this time it’s completely different…
Have you ever tasted perfectly ripe wild blackberries, just picked from the vine?
Their sweetness and flavor are unrivaled by anything in the grocery store. Holding this basketful encouraged me, as God can grow sweet fruit among thorny vines along cement paths. He is growing good things in unexpected places of our lives!
I’ve been thinking about the sea, not only because I’ve been looking forward to an outing to our favorite beach, but because I’ve been thinking about a story that shows up in Matthew and Mark, where Jesus sends his disciples out on the sea in a boat without him. And they end up stuck in a storm far out at sea.
Is there an area of your life that feels like a storm you are stuck in, and it has been continuing a while?
If you’re going through a hard season, give yourself grace! We need rest and to take care of ourselves, and not push ourselves.
As we receive grace from God, and give ourselves grace, we are more able to extend grace to the other people in our lives.
This word, “grace,” has been on my mind. But what does it look like in my practical, lived-out life?
Continue reading “Give Yourself Grace”There is something about the fall that always speaks to me of suffering, of surrender and letting go. Yes, the leaves are gorgeous! But I sense a hint of sadness as the trees say goodbye to summer and become barren. Yet, God moves creation through this season every year.
Like the rest of creation, we move through seasons of suffering in our lives. These seasons can be discouraging and confusing. How can we make sense of this? How can we go through these seasons well? In ways that grow our relationship with Jesus?
Continue reading “A Season of Suffering”