Find Grace

By: Joanne Viola

 

“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
(Hebrews 4:16, NASB)

 

Let’s talk about grace for a bit.

 

We know we receive grace from God time after time. We offer grace to our family, our friends, co-workers, and even drivers on the road.

 

But we fall short on offering grace to ourselves as parents. We blame ourselves for so much when it comes to the daily struggles we face with our children. We compare ourselves with other parents, with TV depictions, and images we scroll past on social media.

 

We tend to forget our children will have imperfections, not solely due to our parenting, but because they are humans.

 

Children will fail to remember their homework assignments, have temper tantrums, test our patience, do poorly on tests, and not pick up after themselves.

 

As humans we all have imperfections. We all will fall short. We will all make mistakes.

 

We need to give one another, our children, and ourselves a bit of grace, offering protection and nurturing so that we grow in the midst of our imperfections.

 

Maybe you are the one who is in need of some nurturing today. The good news is that our God excels in offering exactly what we need.

 

We, too, are growing up in every season of life. We, too, fail to remember how we are to live each day. There are days we fall short on patience, love, and mercy.

 

Nurturing has been defined as “training, upbringing” so that “one can grow into a secure being” (Merriam-Webster dictionary).

 

God wants to grow us into secure believers, those who know Him and will not be shaken, even when our imperfections are on display.

 

Our nurturing God offers to us,
His imperfect people,
His abundant grace in our time of need.

 

 

Reflection:
Are you in need of God’s grace today? How can you carve out time to give yourself a break – some time to recoup and receive grace?

 

Image by Ekaterina Ershova from Pixabay