The Remarkable Nature of Grace – #GraceMoments Link up

I find myself stealing the quiet as often as I can now a days…creeping close and still so that I can slip into the peace.  Thinking about these lessons on resting this summer has only magnified my desire to learn the art of simply pausing and looking about as often as possible.

It is August in the Midwest and I live right next to a low marshy plot of earth located on the river.  That makes for some serious humidity in the solar warmed days of the middle of summer.  I already miss the fresh excitement spring birthed into my calendar, wishing for a little do-over on summer already…though it has still 49 days till it expires. Time goes too fast during these sacred special breaks and reprieves we are given. I want to count more, to stop often, to look deeper.I think I have learned that lesson this summer.

The mosquitoes have multiplied in this heat and water soaked atmosphere; hungry for the bare skin exposed to the sun’s rays. I find myself escaping into the cool air inside, catching a glimpse of my favorite flowers  as they bounce gently with the sun’s crossing, longing for the chance to till soil and pull weeds in the ultra violet rays that cascade down.

But this morning as the dawn met the horizon, I found myself creeping out the door to watch the light break through the clouds.  The quiet was palpable. Even the birds seemed silently hushed. I have learned that this space of holy is meant to  be drawn into with reverence and waiting.

In moments like this, there is a raw awareness of His presence that makes one take notice of the little things. Things that are monotonous…mundane…miraculous.

And maybe that is why we are called into the stillness that His soul prepares for us, because we see His goodness and His fingerprint in the everyday… in the wonder and in the glory of all that can be taken for granted when we forget to rest in Him.

Waiting and listening, my eyes were drawn to a small leaf in a state of rest, already fallen  from the tree which no longer needed the chlorophyll to feed and nourish it. On the surface of the already crinkling sun catcher, water droplets reflected the morning’s landscape in miniature.

Caught by the beauty of it,  I slowly became aware of the millions of  dew drops resting upon blades of grass.  Every surface collected moisture as the sunrise broke the horizon…monotony in mass production, miraculous in a million little ways. And I realized this was a picture of His remarkable grace.

Miracles in our everyday, realizing our lives are capable of reflecting eternity in the sunrise of each morning, beauty in the monotony of simplicity.

photo credit LBoyer

The remarkable nature of grace is so deep, yet so simple… it reflects His heart. 

Even in the simplicity of it, we can’t always get to the end of it. We really can’t understand it. And sometimes we are not grateful for it.

But what if the remarkable characteristic of grace is the monotony of his miraculous favor for us?

Maybe we need to view grace through the lens of intentional necessity, where He administers wonder to us every morning and every evening in the mundane and the simple so that we can learn to exult in what He has done for us.

So that we can reflect a heart of grace.

 “…God is strong enough to exult in monotony.  It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon.  It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” -GK Chesterton

Chesteterton strikes a chord here with this quote.  At the heart of His loving lies the message that grace carries to the depths of our soul. Remarkable grace in simple extravagance delivers His distinguishable peace in our mundane moments. When we catch that vision, it changes our view forever. We are no longer the youth unchanged but the aged made new, reborn and rebuilt in the image and reflection of God.

It is the heart of grace that leads us into rest, moment by moment. Because it is limitless, it is infinite, it is miraculous… we’ll never reach the end of our discoveries about it.  Like a landscape that reflects the beauty captured in a still moment, His grace in our lives is so much more than one look can decipher.  It takes in-depth study, friends. It takes a journey of a lifetime.

This grace upon grace, is like a paintbrush adding strokes of dimension that highlight and that shade and that blend moments in our lives with the expertise of a master craftsman.

His merit illuminates to the point of magnification revealing the purpose of this remarkable gift. Every pause we take to find His fingerprint unfolds more and more of the favor we don’t deserve as we take in the details which surround our moments in each day.

And so I count grace carefully, looking through the prism of  water polarized in light catching orbits that seem somewhat mundane if we scan our horizons quickly.  But the more we gather grace, diligently taking in the moments and expecting awe, the more equipped we are to give it away.

His patient attention to detail, monotony in the miraculously mundane, is a reminder to embrace the simple. The more we record them, we begin to see the way all the things that collectively add into our days have the potential to bring His glory into our days.

For all these things are [taking place] for your sake, so that the more grace extends to more and more people and multiplies through the many, the more thanksgiving may increase [and redound] to the glory of God. – 2 Corinthians 4:15

Be encouraged, friend… to let the quiet assure you of His favor as a landscape of grace in your lives.  Rest as you look deep into the simple every day, seemingly redundant things that are easy to miss.  Rest in the heart of grace, as you wait for His glory to surround you.

Where are you finding #GraceMoments in your mundane and monotonous landscapes today?

IT’S YOUR TURN TO BE A GRACE COUNTER!  SHARE YOUR GRACE MOMENT IN THE COMMENTS BELOW AND THEN COUNT GRACE WITH A FRIEND WITH COMMENT ON A BLOG OR TWO.

If you are a blogger, link up here with  a post about finding grace moments in your life or one of your favorite inspiring and encouraging posts from this week. Share your thoughts in the comment section telling me about the #Grace Moments you experienced this week. *(only 1 post per link please)*

Take time to visit your neighbor next to you, and if you want visit a few more friends on the journey. We all need a little encouragement and affirmation as we travel together.

If you don’t have a blog, you can connect with me via my Journeys in Grace FB page by sharing a photo or a comment.  Or you can join the party by sharing your images on Instagram with #Gracemoments hashtag.

Each week I will  try visit as many of your amazing  posts as I can.This is a safe place to sit and dwell in grace together, friends. I can’t wait to pour a cup of friendship with you and take in the grace moments you have to share. Don’t forget to leave a comment below, I love to hear from you.