Sometimes the things that are unplanned and unwanted in our journey make the most sense. Perhaps it is the paradox of faith to trust that the days that we choose to surrender are ordered by the One who has held the stars in His hands and created image-bearers from the dirt that He spoke into place. The wonder of it all astounds me. And I can’t fully wrap my brain around the enormity of it all…except to come back to one word that has been hounding my heart for weeks… Mercy.
Last Sunday as my church family gathered together around a wreath and candles reading a prophecy about the Messiah whose advent upon our reality changed the world forever, all I could think about was how full and beautiful and glorious this story really is.
Except it isn’t just a story, is it?
And our journey to the stable from a table of thanks is not an accidental unplanned moment, either. Truthfully, no matter how closely we organize every detail of our day Proverbs tells us that it is the Lord who directs us. And this story we read, on repeat to save our souls, this echo of grace that lines our tables and our bedsides and bookshelves. It’s been nestled in the heart of the Father from the beginning, it’s been the plan from the start… to expose his unmatched love by the power of his extravagant mercy.
“Mercy is radical kindness. Mercy means offering or being offered aid in desperate straits. Mercy is not deserved. It involves absolving the unabsolvable, forgiving the unforgivable. Mercy brings us to the miracle of apology, given and accepted, to unashamed humility when we have erred or forgotten.”- Anne Lamott, Hallelujah Anyway
Mornings have been my quiet reprieve for only a short time, really. It’s only been in the last few years that I can wake before my slumbering people and steal time as if I alone know the secret. They sleep through the morning as if it is a plague to be avoided, but I long to watch the sun break the horizon in the quiet hush of reverent waiting.
If I miss it…this time where my soul is set aright by the restructuring that only time with the One who orders my steps and laughs at my plans with grace can do…then I find I am stealing time later, like a beggar… I am always looking for grace and collecting moments to remind me.
In the twinkling glow of the Christmas tree, my eye caught the shadow of a figurine on a shelf that my daughter gave me years ago. I sometimes forget it is there, shoved high up and out of the way. It was a day that grace didn’t really spill out for me, and it is a reminder that this journey is a constant lesson in forgiving and loving and absolving and offering, because I am always needing to learn those lessons. As I looked at this collection that has grown through the years, mostly because she loves these faceless figurines as much I do, I realized that most are cracked or broken and set ‘just so’ to hide their imperfections. And somehow the value of His mercy hit me smack in the face. It is so easy to forget kindness, humility, and favor when my eyes are on everything except Jesus.
When I forget to be radically kind or unashamedly humble… when I hide imperfections to present a false story… when I position my world in a way that pretends to makes sense… it is like a self-stamped judgment right on my soul. But mercy, like the ‘But God’ moment, remarkably opposes the power these breaks-in-my armor hold and always provides a way back to grace.
Very clearly I see how much I value the broken pieced-back-together-present as much, maybe even more than, the original flawless form. Because of the lessons. Because of the purpose in seeing beauty in broken things. Because love spilled out so much that day and mercy met me through both failure and forgiveness.
And maybe , we are meant to capture the broken and gather the pieces to be dumped into our growing buckets of grace? Either way I am always looking, always counting, always waiting to find grace…to collect it and remember.
I want to collect the synonyms of grace, too…like mercy and compassion and favor and kindness, unashamedly…because it multiples.
When mercy breaks over us, there is an explosion of more and more, a cataclysmic rending of cause and effect; almost like it has to break open in order to multiply. Like grace, when it is not harbored in our hearts but recklessly given away, we find more of it; because mercy is a heavenly gift. And outside of His love, I wonder if our finite selves can ever really comprehend, I wonder if outside of inspired communion with His Spirit if we will really truly grasp the gift in the manger in place of our debt?
Ephesians 2 says that it is out of His rich mercy that He loved us… that he met us in grace. It is because of mercy that Jesus, fully God and fully man, watched at Creation and knew that He would step into the manger to pick up our broken pieces.
In the beginning[before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.- John 1:1,2,14
Advent is about His mercy.
It is about Immanuel, God being fully with us, because he can be no less.
Advent is about gathering our souls, the breaking parts included, and offering all we have as we wait for Him to come…to dwell among us in glory. It is about the journey of the wise ones, the ones who are looking to the light of His star that announces His presence, that draws us close and points the way, ordering our steps and altering our plans, in search of I AM. The One who was before it all, who was in the beginning with and existing as Holy, solely and completely whole… ready to be broken so that we can be gathered and redeemed through the mercy of His love.
Love consists in this: not that we loved God But that He loved us and sent His Son to be our the atoning sacrifice for our sins. – 1 John 4:10
What are you collecting in this season of tradition? Let me challenge you to look for mercy, gather up grace, and dwell close in the presence of the Savior as He binds up all that is broken and mends every searching soul.
Consider these resources as you spend time waiting this Advent Season.
The Journey to the Stable is a free resource I created for you. It is meant to give you time to pause and consider, to write out your heart, and journal your Journey to the Stable this Christmas Season.
Christi Gee and her dear daughter teamed up to bring a beautiful book, Behold, this Advent Season. What’s better than a mom and daughter seeking Jesus together, right?www.christigee.com
One of my very very favorite sides is She Reads Truth. I am loving their 2017 Advent Devotional. You can read along with the devotions on their website but you can also get the book and ornaments to enrich your study. I love them so much. www.shereadstruth.com
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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Dawn, thanks for urging us to take the mercy extended to us through Christ.
There’s no peace on earth without the “mercy mild” that brought about the miracle of reconciliation!
I love the Ann Lamott quote. That’s indeed mercy.
Amazing story that God is crafting in us. He has always know us but we immediately got evicted from the garden and it has taken over thousands of years for us to come to know Him. Lovely post today! Thanks for hosting !
Dawn, Each week your words bring me closer and closer to an understanding of the word GRACE. Thank you, you write so eloquently. I felt drawn in and most important I felt a longing for Christ. Thank you. Maree
Your words were so edifying to my heart this morning, sweet friend. I am SO thankful for God’s mercy upon me, too…and His grace that is all-sufficient, regardless what we go through in this life. I cannot begin to tell you how much your comment at my blog the other day meant to me. I was so deeply moved to know that, back at the beginning of your blogging journey, something I said encouraged you. It is funny how God can take something like that and turn it around years later and use it to lift our own spirits when they are sagging so low. Though I don’t keep in touch often, I want you to know that you have blessed me and your blog is truly a shining light and encouragement. I am so thankful God connected us this way, and I trust He will continue to bless and prosper your efforts here and make them fruitful in His Kingdom. I trust you and your family have a wonderfully blessed Christmas season. 🙂