What God’s Grace Looks Like

Everybody has a testimony. We all come with a history and have at least one story of a great trial or tribulation and a miraculous blessing after; a moment that is captured in our mind and heart with perfect clarity and detail. And no matter how many years pass, no matter the number of countless experiences we have after, that moment can always be recalled and the story told with ease. But why? Why do these moments even resonate with us? Why do our minds and hearts hold on to these moments with so much conviction? Why does it bring us fulfillment and peace to share these sometimes very painful, personal moments with others? BECAUSE…we are sharing our experiences of GOD’S GRACE in our lives and when we do so, we glorify Him! Just think about it – how many times have you sat with someone and listened as he/she spoke with love and revelry about a situation of dire circumstance that someway, somehow, was transformed into an unexpected blessing? Even if the person never acknowledged with his/her mouth the grace of God, the glory still belonged to Him because the story was told!

I learned at a young age that EVERY experience I have is part of a much bigger purpose for my life. I never accepted that we arbitrarily go through things (good or bad). The concept of random moments completely independent of each other seemed unrealistic. Besides, I always felt (and still do) this connection with the world. I’m going to go down a small rabbit hole real quick but stay with me…there’s this “theory” that time is not linear. It doesn’t go from one point on a straight line to another. Rather, everything Is, Was, and Will Be. In fact, you can find scriptures to support this “theory” throughout the Bible – Revelation 1:8; Revelation 22:13; Isaiah 43:13. God is purposeful in stating to us that He knows no limits and time is nothing to Him. Time is a construct of our inability to grasp His Sovereignty. So what does this talk of time have to do with the first three sentences of this paragraph? I can remember points in my life when I was somewhere and standing literally in the footprint of my future because years later, I would be in that place! And I wish I could explain this better but it’s the closest comparison I can make to the word we use to describe this phenomenon: deja vu. Because of these footprints, I see the threads that weave all the moments together to comprise the tapestry of my life. We are Purposeful, Y’all. Nothing about us is coincidental. Nothing we experience is random. We are constantly being reshaped, reformed, and woven to be who God created us to be.

The question in the back of our minds since the beginning of time is – why are we here? The one answer that seems right to me is this: we are here to love God. We love God by loving each other the way He loves us. We love God by mirroring His love for us in our actions to others. We love God by living out His Purpose, Plan and Will for us. We love God by giving Him the Glory in all things. We glorify Him when we speak of His Grace in our lives! And His Grace is all over us. In fact, His Grace is the greatest gift He gives us while we’re in this world.

I said in the first post of this blog that I’d be honest and real so I’m going to talk about the question a lot of people who love God and believe in Him have – if God gives Grace, why is there so much suffering? The way I see it – a gift is ours to accept or decline. Packaging is deceptive and when you’re focused on the expectation of how/what the gift should look like, you WILL miss the Grace within. Earlier this year, I was blessed with a tremendous gift of traveling to Africa. While there, I saw people that were suffering. But within these suffering people, I saw strength, perseverance, faith and hope! The external condition of their lives was harsh but inside these suffering people, there were overcomers that put the endurance of us much more privileged “First-Wolders” to shame. How can people that are experiencing profound suffering be so resilient? GRACE! God’s gift to us. His confirmation of His Promise that no matter what we endure, He is with us. There is nothing more beautiful, more humbling, more inspirational than to see people that are hopeful each day, faithful each day in the midst of hardships beyond their control. Because some suffering is not by choice! It is the result of the choice(s) of others! And let me say this before I leave this point…God’s gift of Grace is something we can share with others and when we decline the gift, there is a detrimental consequence (like the unnecessary suffering of entire populations).

Whew…that rabbit hole went longer than I thought! 😳Let me see if I can loop all of this back to the title.

I was born 34 years ago. From the time I was 2ish until I was 7ish, I endured a lot of suffering. Not by choice, of course. My Mom (who is now resting in eternal grace) just couldn’t get the concept of motherhood right. So, unfortunately, my early childhood was caught in the consequences of her actions. I wish I could sugarcoat or downplay the things I experienced but plain and simple, I went through some messed up stuff – physical abuse, mental abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse. I won’t bore you with the details but I will say that I’ve been very deliberate about sharing any of this. In fact, 98% of folks who know me have no clue about this part of my life. And not because I’m ashamed. Or because I was scared of being labeled a victim or shunned or judged or anything like that. I just felt so different from everybody. Elementary, middle and high school was hard for me. I was a loner, an introvert and didn’t relate to people my age. I mean can you blame me? I had the innocence, the ignorance, the naivete of my child essence taken from me before kindergarten. I’d seen things, been places that are in some of the darkest recesses of the human psyche. By the time I made it back into the light (when my Dad got custody of me) I was so GRATEFUL and HAPPY to be “normal” again that I kept my mouth closed about where I’d come from. I think my schoolmates always gave me a bit of side eye though…😕 At this point in my life, I’m ready to stop pretending like my story is irrelevant. That’s been my excuse this whole time – “Nobody cares about what you’ve gone through. They’ve got their own story too.” But somebody will care. Somebody is going through something/trying to make sense of what they’ve been through and doesn’t know if it’s even possible (IT IS! I’m proof!). Somebody needs to know LIGHT is at the end of the tunnel. Proverbs 23:18 You will OVERCOME. 1 John 5:4 THIS TOO SHALL PASS. Ecclesiastes 3:1 YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Joshua 1:9 YOU ARE PURPOSEFUL. Psalm 139:14 YOU ARE UNCONDITIONALLY LOVED Psalm 93:4 Somebody needs to know to NOT GIVE UP Isaiah 40:31

If you need to know what God’s Grace looks like…it’s a little 2-year old girl full of all the promise God created her with and none of the knowledge of what’s to come…it’s that same 2-year old being thrown into darkness but never discarded, never consumed, never absorbed…it’s a woman, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a coworker – constantly being reshaped, reformed, restored so that she can live out the purpose given to her at creation. God’s Grace is each of us living out our individual experiences, collectively, because truly, we are one, woven together in the perfect tapestry of God’s Love.

If you are enjoying this blog and are getting something (even just a little), tell someone else so she can tell someone else. Also follow OkayShe on Instagram: _OkayShe_ and Facebook: OkayShe

I love y’all and come back soon!