Happy New Year!

The first day of a new year. I pulled the covers up tighter around my neck. I really didn’t even want to get out of bed. I lay there for a few moments, and then a thought passed through my mind. “Living in Grace.” Hmmmm. I lay there a little longer and began thinking about grace. Grace was probably the most wonderful thing that I knew. It was what had given me spiritual life, and it was surely the only real way to live the Christian life.

Verses began to flow through my mind: For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: It is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8. My grace is sufficient for you. 2 Corinthians 12:9. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16. Yes, grace was a truly marvelous thing. Again, I heard in my heart “Living in Grace.” I wondered why that thought had occurred to me again.

I rolled out of bed, and pondered as I went. I stepped into my sunroom, with the morning sun filtering through the frosty windows. Just then “Skip to My Lou” came to mind. Ha! I had to laugh! I had a friend that used to call me “Skip to My Lou” all the time. She said that no matter what happened (and I had had a number of hard circumstances), that I just kept “skipping” right through. Hmmm. I sure hadn’t been “skipping” lately. It seemed as if so many things were burdensome to me, and I did so many things out of obligation. Then, “Living in Grace” popped back in my mind. Not living BY grace, but living IN grace. I pondered the difference between the two.

It was then that an additional thought occurred to me …. On this first day of this new year, it seemed as if “Living in Grace” would be my theme for 2015. Hmmm. More pondering. Maybe, just maybe, the Lord wanted to restore that “skipping” to my life. I didn’t even know how I had lost it, but I had a deep desire to have it back.

I quietly prayed about these thoughts … open to know all the Lord wanted to teach me.

I began the day … Nothing monumental. I called my aging Mom to wish her a “Happy New Year”. I’m thankful for every year that the Lord gives to her. I texted my sister with the same greeting and wished my niece well as she departed for a long awaited trip to Spain, and I “facetimed” my son and his family across the Atlantic. I always loved to talk with them. I planned a special dinner for my husband, and I spent the rest of the day on what we so often consider the “mundane”. Cooking … Cleaning … Laundry … And such. But as I took care of those homemaking tasks, “Living in Grace” filled my thoughts. Lyrics to songs about grace entered my heart. The book of Galatians came to mind. As I considered certain Scriptures from Galatians, I knew I would search out those verses.

And so the day continued… again, nothing monumental. Simple day. Simple tasks. My home was in order; my husband was fed and quite content. We sat quietly by the fireplace as he read and I pondered. My heart was still. Living in the grace of God! And maybe, just maybe, I felt a little “skipping” return!