Life Lessons on Grace

Over the past three years, God has been teaching me one lesson over and over.  It's all about GRACE.  What does that word mean anyway?  It means God's unmerited favor in my life.  That he is for me, that he is for my good, all the time, and NOT BECAUSE OF ANYTHING I DO.  All because of who he is.  Grace is, as I am learning, God bringing all the goodness of himself and his gifts to bear on my life because he is who he is.  And it has nothing to do with me earning it.

I could write a novel about all the ways God has used Emma Grace to teach me this lesson. Her name has such a significant meaning to me now.  Her name, Grace, represents the theme of this past few years for me and she has been a major catalyst for me learning this lesson.  As parenting has proven to be the hardest thing I have ever attempted, I've come face to face with my tendency to think I can earn God's approval by meeting a standard I set for myself.  As I have failed to meet my own standard over and over again (that's been ugly!!!), I have been met with his unconditional love and approval of me.  What's that all about?  That's grace.  As my sin has loomed large,  the cross of Christ has gotten bigger and bigger to me.  And I love him more as  I see the way he treats me in the face of my sin.  He does not condemn me.  He died and justifies me.  He does not shun me.  He has adopted me and welcomed me into his family.  And he promises, all my life, to always be working for my good, no matter what I do or don't do.  I am his.

Emma Grace's Chinese Name is En Mei, which means "Grace Beautiful."  I had no idea how God would use my firstborn to fill in the meaning of her name for me.  It's a lesson I'll be learning all my life, I am sure.