just a word from a wise one, not me.

Today Nick was encouraging me about something or other and I was just flooded with gratefulness for him. There have been some dark days around our place lately - whether due to real situations or just plain old attack. Starting the day of my birthday, not because I was celebrating myself, but because I really felt a very pure celebration of joy in my heart - there was a lifting of that yuck & it was really, really sweet.

Like most days when you feel relief from something, you fear it is going to creep back in - or worst case scenario, it does and so I was feeling vulnerable again. To fear, to backsliding, to ceasing growth, & to being too much and never enough.

He reminded me that the gospel is beautiful and only beautiful in its completion. Sometimes we almost want the sin, want the dark side, and refuse to celebrate in the light. It can almost become comfortable to wallow in the yuck, feeling human and incapable and powerless - rather than truly appreciating the grace we are blessed to walk in, the power of Christ at work within us, and without claiming the promises He has given.

This had me thinking again about Glory and tonight I stumbled upon blogs & website about women who had lost their babies and I just felt incredibly in awe of God and His mercy. These women all seemed more Christ-like, more intelligent, more beautiful & more worthy. The sheer grace God has given me in sparing Glory - in giving me two kids made me want to hide under a rock... They are so precious it seems like their mere existence screams at my inadequacy. But I CANNOT run, cannot escape His blessings and I really don't want to. I also cannot discount the steadfast and faithful nature of His character despite circumstances. The women I was reading about know that no matter what the details of life look like, God is good. And that is always something to celebrate.

We have to live in the full power of Christ at work within us, have to let Him complete His full plan - no matter how mucky or horrible we are, because it is what He has purposed. I love how in the ESV, Paul calls us partakers of grace and tells us, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ".

So if you're scared of change, scared of the light, or confused about what's ahead - let's encourage one another with that sweet word, "completion" and all that it offers.