2/18/12
mercy vs grace once again, i am so humbled by His grace! can't tell you how many days that has happened in this new life. on many occassions i have sat, or laid in bed pondering over the difference in "mercy and grace". often times i think people mistakedly use them interchangeably, as did i. the longer this remains in the forefront of my mind i believe that i finally get it. God has and is continually showing me the difference in my real life. take for instance the past few years that were woven with pain, sadness and countless tears.... can't tell you how many prayers i prayed for God to provide His healing or provide me a way to my heart's safety. did i believe that would happen? not TRULY for many years! i kept getting in the way of His blessing, HIS ANSWERED PRAYER! His MERCY! once i truly believed, i mean TRULY believed...(got face down and butt up), HE answered my prayer! and, that story of HIS GREAT BLESSING will indeed be another writing when i have more time to give it the amount of words that it deserves! however, it was His MERCY that provided a way to my heart's safety! His MERCY is what allows us to escape, be provided for, succeed! His GRACE is where the BLESSINGS come! so many times in my life i have MERCIFULLY been provided for. God shown His MERCY on my mother and at the same time He was there for her children. every time my mother was absent from my life...HE never left me! He was there molding me into who i am today. (the person i am so much that He has provided me the talent to put this into words.) that's where His GRACE comes in! as far back as i can remember, He has POURED HIS GRACE ON ME! when the dark veil of my mother's drugs and alcohol covered us in darkness, His MERCY allowed us girls to "unwrap" the darkness, the sin, the filth, the shame and begin again, walking with Him in His grace! my sister and i frequently and intentionally tell people it is His "grace" that has been poured on our heads to have allowed us to have survived, prevail into the women we are today. well, as i write this i am understanding that it wasn't His "grace", but His MERCY that allowed us to survive and it is His GRACE that we continue to live in so wonderfully! this is where last night comes into play...as i sat and watched generations play, laugh and LOVE! i was a part of that. so GRACIOUSLY a part of that! i have always been a "simple" girl, loving the simple things in life! the things you can't buy, but have a worth beyond belief! enter one special lady who gripped my heart and reminded me so much of my mam maw. when i saw this jewel i realized God had sprinkled these women all over to provide His blessings in so many deserving places. my mam maw was a true woman of God who touched so many lives during hers. God provided me precious times with her growing up and all along He was instilling in me some of her wonderful qualities. God used this special woman last night as not only a reminder to me of those wonderful qualities that have been passed down through the generations, but as a reminder of His goodness to us!! i am so magnificently GRATEFUL for who He has provided, how he has provided and that He continues to provide for me and Taylor! some mornings, this one included i open my eyes and sometimes say outloud, "is this my life?" with tears streaming down my face, i answer myself! let me be the first to tell you i have had His grace POURED on me, but right now IT IS RAINING GRACE! it is everywhere i look, everywhere i go, everywhere i breath! now, anyone who knows me, KNOWS that i am scooping up the grace, puting it in bottles and buckets as fast as i can for those who i might encounter who need some as well! that's just who i am!! p.s....I LOVE THAT!!! my GRACE just called and i'm about to get ready for the day and it's blessings. today we will celebrate a very special blessing who is turning two. thank you God for allowing me to be a part of his life and belly laughs. may today be a true blessing to many, a raining of Your grace. today will be a day where no umbrella is needed...let me dance in the rain!!!!