All Grace

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (I Corinthians 12:7)

God is pouring out His grace on us through our church. After receiving a letter from our insurance company Monday, Aug. 29, setting a Sept. 20th deadline for fascia repairs to our home, we were scrambling. This fascia has been dangling for more than two years. Every time we think we will have money to fix it, the money goes for something else we deem a higher priority -- sometimes wisely, sometimes not. Now we were cornered, and with seemingly no way out. In South Florida it's the rare handyman who even shows up to give an estimate within the time frame we were facing.

On Tuesday, Leah and I read this passage in her Stewardship lesson: "In many ways, it is easier knowing that all of your possessions are His. When you live in a rental property and you have a leak in your roof, you just call the landlord and he takes care of it. Someday you may have your own home. Maybe you'll find a leak in the roof. When you remember that your house is really his, call on your heavenly landlord and let Him know he has a problem with His roof. Ask Him how He intends to fix it! It really is a liberating way to live. I confess I have difficulty remembering this concept in every crisis, but when I do, it is comforting to know that the problem is His responsibility." -- Steven P. Demme

And so we prayed about the fascia. I felt silly and irresponsible to pray this way. I felt that the fascia problem was our own fault. And it is.

But I was reminded and humbled again this week: With God, it is all grace.

Instead of a consequence or even a lecture, He poured out His grace.

When I told our friend, who knows how to do these kinds of things, about our deadline, he was over the very next day, measuring fascia. Then the following day, he came back with three other guys -- and four of their sons -- and they ripped down the old wood, ripped it down with evident joy at serving. Today, he was back with three different guys (and one son) to cut and put up the plywood soffit.

They explained this kindness, so overwhelming, by pointing to verses we are studying in I Corinthians in our Sunday School class. They are happy to use the gifts God has given them to strengthen us in the areas in which we are so weak and lacking.

Their grace, their generosity -- it's so big. And yet... how much bigger is the Lord's? My tiny mind is trying to grasp this: How big is God's Grace? I am stunned into silence. All I can say is: Thank you.