By His Grace I am What I am

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This is probably my favorite times of year. I love Autumn!  The cold air, the colors, the warmth {family}, the togetherness; the excitement that a season of opportunity and change are right around the corner.

I look forward to this time because many celebrations are coming up for me; my anniversary, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Every year it starts about a week before my anniversary that I start meditating on the past year.  I begin to ask myself questions like, did I go a good job at being a wife? a mother?  Did I bring peace to my home this past year? Did I yell less this year? Did I love more this year? What do I need to improve on? Seriously this list goes on!

I don't do this to make myself sad and crazy and try to fix things in the last few months of the year, I do it because I want to prepare myself for the coming year (even if we are two months away!).

Autumn is really a beautiful time of the year.  We can see the greatest artist at work on His canvas - the world around us! I started to think about really what happens in Autumn and realized the leaves and flowers are dying.  I know that doesn't sound beautiful, but that is the way it is.  Everything falls, withers away or dries up.  Is this good?  I believe YES! This starts the beginning of an opportunity for something new, fresh and full of life to come in its time.

With all of this in mind I look back at my life, this past year.  I ask God to restore only the "leaves" that need to come back into my life.  I ask God to help me with the areas that I struggle with in my marriage, with my children and with myself.  I look forward to this new season of cold, shorter and darker days.  This is my opportunity to draw closer to Him.  My opportunity to be filled by Him.  My opportunity to look less at the world for answers and more to Him for answers. My opportunity to quiet myself and listen for His still voice.

PRAISE the LORD all of this is possible because of HIS GRACE!  I don't deserve this new opportunity but BY HIS GRACE I CAN RECEIVE IT!  Many times I have failed but His mercy and grace brought me to my feet.  Many times I just wanted to do it my way but His mercy and grace humbled my heart.  Many times I gave up but His grace and mercy carried me through.

 This is ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE HIS GRACE AND MERCY!

"But because of God’s grace I am what I am. And his grace was not wasted on me ... But I didn’t do the work. God’s grace was with me. "

1 Corinthians 15:10

I am not what I ought to be — ah, how imperfect and deficient! I am not what I wish to be — I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good! I am not what I hope to be — soon, soon shall I put off mortality, and with mortality all sin and imperfection. Yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was; a slave to sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge, 

"By the grace of God I am what I am." 

~John Newton~

For His Glory and By His Grace,
Monica