Messy Grace

As I sit awake with sweet baby J, there are a million thoughts going through my head. Yes, many of them revolve around what might get this poor uncomfortable little boy to sleep through the night, but some venture on the more deeply spiritual, like grace.

Grace is a free gift. We don't earn it, and we can't buy it. Grace, too, is bestowed out of need. No need, no get. Finally, as grace is given freely, it must be received freely as well. God can pour grace out like a monsoon, but if we stand there with a golf umbrella, it won't do us much good.

I get stuck in the messiness of my life right now. The laundry is never done, sleep is usually a pipe dream, my mind is far from a steel trap. I'm realizing though that it is exactly in the midst of this that God pours out his grace upon me. If I take my eyes off of me and turn my eyes toward Him, maybe I can take a big old gulp of that grace I need so badly! It's a good thing I can't usually find my umbrella...

Now, let's get this kid to sleep peacefully, huh???