A Woman in Need of Grace



Ever felt like you messed up, big time?
Ever felt like you were grasping at the wind, trying to do things the right way?
Ever hurt someone, while trying to honor or be kind to another?

My heart is screaming, "Lord, please help me, because I'm all over the place!"

Listen, friends, for the record, I am so far from perfect it is not even funny!
If I have ever given any of you the illusion that everything about me is peachy and that I always have myself put together, then let me make it known:
I am an imperfect woman, in desperate need of God's free-flowing grace.
And not just saving grace, amazing grace, or sufficient grace--definitely need those--but I also need the down-in-the-details grace, too. Grace that reaches all those small places, where thoughts are racing and emotions are threatening. Grace for a seasoned tongue, that weighs how to respond instead of losing it.

I had a situation that just left me feeling undone. I wanted to be there for a friend, but I also needed to honor a decision my husband had made. The two conflicted. Any other wife ever been there? Of course, I chose to honor my husband, and in doing so, I knew I would disappoint my friend. How do I do this with gentleness, and without betraying my husband's trust?

Grace.

Many times, when my husband's decisions conflict with my plans, truthfully the temptation is great to just do what I want. I've learned that to do so does not help my marriage and is totally unbiblical. My solution to flee temptation, though? Fly to the other end of the spectrum, to ensure that I honored him.

Grace would have tempered my reaction and formed it into a more graceful response. . . if only I had just asked of God first.

In this situation, my husband expressed his concern for the present, and voiced a possible solution for the future. I couldn't even "hear" the future solution, because all I knew was that the present plans had been interrupted. All I heard was: you can't do what you've planned. And in that moment I knew I needed to honor him--and honor him quickly, for fear of temptation--and so I went forward with a hurry-up and get out of this situation, I just can't do it, attitude. . .

Oh, the need for grace.

After the heat of the moment, I realized all the things I could have said and all the ways it could have gone, if only I had paused to ask for His direction and clarity.

So, as He does, God worked things out for good: Husband was honored, things were talked through, friendship remains, and the Lord revealed some truths to me I had missed or ignored.

Once again, I am humbled by His grace, which is always available, and is mine for the asking. I'm learning to pause, take my time, not rush, and intentionally ask Him to help me be a woman of grace.



Comments

  1. I love your writing. We are called to honor and respect our own husband and you expressed this beautifully. Continue being the woman God called you to be...your children are always watching. :-) Your husband is a blessed man and I'm confident he already knows this.

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    1. Hey, Tika! Thanks for visiting my little space over here. Thank you so much for sweet words. . . and you are so right, my children are always watching! (Great motivator!)

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  2. Beautiful post, Stacie. I don't know how I ever lived without Him, but I know the more of Him I receive, the more of Him I need.

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    1. Thanks, Latonya. I love that way you worded that. . . .oh, so true!

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  3. I am so there with you! I have been learning the same lesson. It is very hard to just "sleep on it" sometimes. But I have found, like you, that when I take the time and hold my tongue, talk to the Lord about it, and let emotions settle it's always better!:) What a blessing to have a husband who has your best interest in mind! Just for the record, I personally have never thought you have ever given the impression you are perfect. You always write with honesty and conviction. Thanks for the encouragement!:)

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    1. Yes, yes, yes. . .to hold my tongue and season it with grace! And, thank you so much--sometimes "blog land" can make us appear false and I NEVER want to give that impression. Thank you!! :)

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  4. Beautiful post and something I can relate to prayerfully learning over the years. I still make many mistakes in this area and rely heavily on grace. I just wrote about something a bit similar on my blog, but I love the way you shared your transparency.

    I'm so glad to have found your blog again. ( I was a long time ago reader/writer from AllofaKindFamily). I'm now blogging at chasingslow.blogspot.com

    Happy Friday and sweet blessings to you and your family.

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    1. Hey, I remember you! (I was sad when you stopped blogging there. And, you were totally the reason I introduced my daughters to the All of a Kind Family books! lol) I'm so glad you found me and that you're blogging again. :)

      Thank you for such kind words. I'm still learning, too. . .

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  5. How many times I have been there Stacie! Thank you for sharing this godly encouragement on the Art of Home-Making Mondays! It is so hard when those conflicts come!

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    1. You're welcome; thanks for hosting. Yes, it can be so hard sometimes. . . one day at a time.

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