I lost the diamond out of my wedding set last week.  I took a picture of the empty bracket of gold bent and worn, and noticed a word right above it scribing a feeling I wasn’t exactly owning at the moment….thankful.

I didn’t realize till the photo was taken the irony of it all,  because thankfulness was not the first emotion that rolled over me when I realized the center of a ring I have rarely taken off my finger in 25 years was missing.  Yet, I found myself convicted by the weight of the moment  and the lesson I was learning right in the middle of it.

Thankfulness is always a choice… in every storm, difficulty and loss and in every blessing,victory and gift…just like grace.

Give thanks in all things; for this is God’s Will for you in Christ Jesus.1 Thessalonians 5:18

In the midst of the moment, thankfulness allows us to praise through the fear, hurt and loss enough to hear the still small voice speaking grace over our souls.  And in middle of the counting good moments, the blessings that we tabulate and record, thankfulness keeps our perspective focused on who orchestrated the blessing to begin with.

Thankfulness gives us perspective and keeps us humble and meets us in the ocean of grace that is His love for us.

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever…-Psalm 118:29

When I see that His grace is just enough for every part of my today, it is more than enough to meet the needs of yesterday and the burdens that are bound to meet me tomorrow. Because He is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow…so is His grace. It’s always enough.

…always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Ephesians 5:20

I have little pieces of grace littered all over my house, reminders of people who have loved me well and listened to my grace-stories through the years.  They are part of the blessings I count, the beauty in my broken path, the #gracemoments that have gathered over the years.    And I look around at what I have, a house that is old and crooked and breaking over and over, but I still have a house.  A family, imperfect but redeemed by  love, looking for their way as they go… all of us looking to the Way, the Truth, and The Life for the perspective that we need to forge ahead into the looming storms knowing mercy is a daily offering. People in my periphery,  gorgeous beautiful real individuals all fallen prey to the encrypted messes that qualify us as human, but searching out the living that quantify His gift. Blessings to count, growing like Jabez’ prayer to enlarge His influence and to add geography to His memory. Multiplied things that are valued because they connected to the people who show me more about God in their journey.

All these things are the enough that grace covers over… they are more than enough.

Because rings can be replaced, but the memories and moments that built a life can never be lost or stolen. Even the fading of our days  are etched deep by His hand in time’s record book.  Even if we don’t remember, He never forgets.  And it’s His mercies that renew daily showing us the way to grace, showing us the way to live out thanks…All.The.Time.

One act of thanksgiving, when things go wrong with us, is worth a thousand thanks when things are agreeable to our inclinations. -St John of Avila

I needed to be reminded that the things I hold dear have a tendency to gather dust and rust and get lost. These things, though lovely, are not the essence of the gift but a mere reminder of the promise. We need to hold fast to the promise… His yes and amen in our storms and our selahs… those faithful contracts of His covenant with us are the sure and steadfast truth, they are the indestructible gifts, they are the enduring treasures. They are the just enough grace for the moments we are in.

Let us hold unswervingly to the confession of our  hope…without wavering; for He who promised is faithful.-Hebrews 10:23

This purpose of choosing thankfulness as a confession, no matter what I am walking through in this journey, isn’t in a strength I own. It’s the grace enough for every moment of my day that changes my perspective: counting graces, listing thanks, etching mercy, looking for God.  It is a discipline that I am learning to mete out daily, sometimes minute by minute, but it is worth it.

It’s those saving graces that lead us to learn the heart of thankfulness… the just enough to get us through the day moments…the recording of good things so we don’t forget that mercy met us right where we are…the quickly snapped photos providentially placed that put perspective right there in front of us that we need to count and keep and revisit. It makes thankfulness spill when life happens. And because #graceisalwaysenough.

In the #gracemoments where mercy always wins and your perspective shifts towards thankfulness, do you see the more than enough grace that you are wading in?

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.

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