Time Out

Okay, I admit it. I have had days when I could just spit nails!! It doesn’t matter that I had started my day with God. Somewhere along the way, everything He may have shown me in our time together went out the window and down the drain. Do I hear some amens? Surely I cannot be the only one who feels somedays that if God put us in time out I would not ever make it out of the corner! I would need to have my meals brought to me there, because there was no way He was letting me go! There is a life lesson going on, and He loves me too much to let me go before I get what He is trying to show me.

It could be a person, a thing, a habit – but whichever it is really drives you crazy. More often than not it is a person.  Do you have individuals in your life that, even in your family, can push your buttons or get on your last nerve? I have a sign that says “I have one nerve left and you are standing on it.”  And to top it off, they may not even know they are on your last nerve! I remember a study that had a term EGR which stood for “extra grace required.” I’m sure we all have someone who is our EGR person. Okay, maybe more than one!  Can we just be real about it? It happens. And can we take it a step further and be honest with ourselves that we are probably someone else’s EGR person? Ouch, my toes hurt. How about yours?

Here is the wonder of all of this. God uses it to grow us and build our character. Yes, we might think the lesson could be another way, yet He knows what is best for us and what He is showing us at that moment!  God extended extra grace to each one of us through His Son. I don’t want to think about where I would be apart from His grace. When we extend grace to others we are imitating Jesus. So the next time you and I find ourselves wanting to spit nails, may we stop and count our blessings and maybe, just maybe, we will find ourselves extending grace towards that EGR person just as God extends grace to us.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

Father God, how we thank you that no matter what, if we are your child nothing can change that truth. Even on days when we are at our worst, you still extend grace and love to us. Help us to be mindful that just as you have extended grace to us we are to extend grace to others. Thank you that you use all things to mold and shape us more and more into the likeness of Jesus. Amen.

Blessings,

The WM Team