Hard Love and Divine Grace

I have spent the past several months often feeling like I was drowning. We started the year with my whole family having COVID including my mom, which meant no outside help with her. Between recovering from COVID, digging out from the mountain of work I had waiting for me in my job, helping my teenagers who are often struggling, and caring for my mostly bedridden aging mom, I was, and I, am exhausted. It is a feeling that I am not enough and can never be enough. So many things have fallen through the cracks. I have never felt weaker. It is a great realization that is actually a wonderful thing, when you finally realize, in every fiber of your being, that you are not your Savior.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9).

I have spoken often of surrender, but it is in these past several months that the word has been plastered on my heart. The world becomes ever increasingly out of control and I see so clearly that the only thing we can do is rely totally on the God who loves us.

How many of you out there have felt almost despairing that your children are away from the faith?

How many of you are staring down a sickness that you see no way to conquer?

How many of you feel trapped or forced to do something against your will?

How many of you look at the state of the church and actually worry in anxiety that the gates of hell might prevail?

It is in these precise moments, the ones that are totally out of our control, that Divine Grace falls from heaven and meets us in our human mess. When we surrender all we have, we choose to love God anyway, and we decide to trust Him, Divine Grace rains down. His grace is sufficient for you. In fact, it is all you need.

His promises are true.

This realization, this surrender, becomes a turning point for the miraculous. But it is an odd thing, because you surrender, not because of the desire for miracles, but because you want nothing but Love Himself, who is the only one who you are certain can fix this mess. And you stop trying to tell Him how best to do this and just rely on Him.

There are many who reject this grace, who think they can fix everything, who in their pride think their human answer is better than God’s. Don’t be one of those people. Be one who asks for that Divine grace to be poured over you. Let the power of God have someplace to rest by resting your own heart in His.

I have been astonished to see, in the middle of this exhaustion, many of my relationships begin to heal and flourish. This is the place where God has descended. He actually wants to come to heal his human family. It is when we finally let go in our hearts, we accept the suffering that has come, we face it, we love in the middle of it, and we don’t try to fix or save anyone ourselves.

I have spent many days crying physical tears, but also thanking God. Life is good and beautiful and Our Creator is awesome.

As my mom has been winding down these last days of her life, I have seen people around me love in astonishing ways. I have seen hard love from my husband, my kids, my siblings, my friends, and even from you out there who have never personally met me, but who have reached out in the middle of my suffering and lifted me up. Hard love faces the suffering and keeps going towards heaven wanting that those you come across are heavenly bound too.

I know the world seems awful out there at times, but I am telling you, God is bigger, God is better, God is good, and we really should have no anxiety. Remember we are an Easter people and Hallelujah is our song!

Hold on to hope and surrender all you have to God.

May God Bless you and keep you safe.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:2).