that’s what Douglas Murray calls what our current culture is experiencing – “the oppression Olympics.” Murray stated in a recent interview, “the answer to resentment is not more resentment. The answer to resentment is gratitude and hope.” Murray went on to say that the game of digging up resentments is “endless and unmendable” and he suggests that we might be wise to opt out of the game of “oppression Olympics” before all bridges are burned and all human connections destroyed. Murray refers to an emerging segment of society as the “professionally offended” and suggests that it has now become a full time job for many individuals.

Murray asserts that being offended comes from a place of privilege and position and that gratitude rather than angry outrage would be a more productive response. Sounds kind of like Jesus’s instruction to “turn the other cheek” to me, which is all the more interesting because Murray is a self-described atheist. Nevertheless, he recognizes the destruction the perpetually offended cause in the fabric of our day to day interactions. They cause or carry out a continual tearing of this fabric that binds us all together, with no mending or restoring of the cloth that they are shredding in sight.

The professionally offended among us are always on the lookout for the next “offensive” thing, whatever that might be. Didn’t we used to refer to people like this as “having a chip on their shoulder”? That’s really old school, but it seems people haven’t changed, we’ve just given this attitude a new name and the people who possess said attitude more power. Why do we now acquiesce to what previously was recognized as intolerant bullying? (ie. I want things my way and you will agree with me)

Micro aggressions abound in the world of the perpetually offended and they drag the rest of us into that world with them. (misery does love company, as the saying goes) To be constantly vigilant in one’s search for slights, insults, politically incorrect current discourse or politically incorrect discourse from the past (books, movies, historical documents, posts on social media from one’s past) must be exhausting. What a way to go through life – angry and offended, finding fault with everything and everyone. There must be a better way to walk in this world. Proverbs 19:11 has something to say about this subject,

“A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.”

Interesting isn’t it? Instead of looking for offenses, we should be overlooking them, according to these words from Proverbs. Maybe if we did this, we would be less tired, less angry? We would be happier and healthier perhaps? 1 Corinthians 13:5 describes a better way for me to walk through my days, one that would benefit others but paradoxically would benefit me as well. Actually, Paul starts this section of his letter to the Corinthians with these words, “And now I will show you the most excellent way.” Who wouldn’t want to know what that is? Paul was talking about the most excellent way to live and he was describing love, which, as you may remember from a recent post, (C.C. love is not a noun #183) is an action packed verb much more than it is a feeling. So Paul says,

“It (love) does not dishonor other people. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people’s wrongs.” (NIRV)

Four very important truths that, if I put into practice, would change my life for the better, I am sure. Don’t hurt other people. I like the NLT translation for the second description of love which says, “It (love) does not demand its own way.” Then it goes on to say, “it is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.” The NLV translation gives me the same four truths in these words,

“Love does not do the wrong thing. Love never thinks of itself. Love does not get angry. Love does not remember the suffering that comes from being hurt by someone.” (1 Corinthians 13:5)

The ERV says, “Love does not remember wrongs done against it.” and the EHV translation says, “It does not keep a record of wrongs.”

Love, put into practice as an action verb, could totally change our current culture! Love has the power to do that – not love the feeling, but love the verb of many actions. Love could set us free from this competition we currently have going to see who is the most offended, the most outraged, the most oppressed among us. We would no longer need to spend our days looking for and keeping an up to date record of offenses and oppressions. This would free us up to practice more productive pursuits.

Honor other people, don’t hurt them. (in person or on social media) Look out for the interests of others rather than demanding my own way. Be slow to anger. Overlook wrongs and hurts, don’t keep track of them. Instead of recording and remembering wrongs, what if I forgave and forgot? I might not win the oppression Olympics because I wouldn’t have my list of grievances, my record of wrongs, carried around with me as my proof that I am more offended and oppressed than others, but I sure would travel lighter through this world.

So what if I never win the oppression Olympics, Douglas Murray referred to in his interview? I am actually running a much different race. And I confess – I don’t want to be weighed down in this race by having to keep and carry with me a record of wrongs. Love says I don’t have to do that anymore. In fact love keeps no record of wrongs. And you know who else keeps no record of wrongs, dear readers? God Himself! How do I know this? Well for one thing,

“God is love.” (1 John 4:8) And we just learned that love keeps no record of wrongs. I am comforted and encouraged by these words from Psalm 130 which say,

“If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.” (Psalm 130:3-6)

Yes, forgiveness wipes out that record of wrongs that I have been collecting, which has become such a heavy burden for me to be carrying around on a daily basis. God doesn’t keep my record before Him. I don’t need to be keeping records of wrongs for others before me. God’s love sets me free to run the race He has marked out for me, not the race of “oppression Olympics.” I’m so thankful that God –

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on His children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:10-14)

sincerely, Grace Day

This day is still pretty new, but already I know that it is not an ordinary day. (if there is such a thing, as I discussed in yesterday’s post) Spring is in full swing here and the various flowering trees are full of lovely, delicate color everywhere one looks. It is as if earth is decorating herself for some upcoming grand occasion. I can see and feel things springing to life all around me. (guess that’s where Spring gets her name?) But I could not have predicted the sight that greeted my eyes this morning because it was not ordinary nor customary nor usual in any way. (although the weather forecasters did predict just exactly this and I have to confess – I was not happy about the possibility of dealing with snow this late in April)

I could hardly believe my eyes as I drove to work in the early morning hush. Spring dressed up in Winter’s clothes today. She borrowed Winter’s wardrobe, putting on Winter’s soft, pure white coat over her already vibrantly colored clothes of flower petals new and tender. Today the snow did not cover earth’s barrenness but earth’s beauty, and earth’s beauty shone through the snow – earth’s springtime beauty as she adorns herself with color after her long sleep. The result of this wardrobe sharing by Spring and Winter – defying adequate description, is the creation of an enchanted landscape everywhere I look. There is too much beauty surrounding me this morning for me to take it all in, no matter how long I look.

What a way to start the day! As if an ordinary sunrise would not have been sufficient. (although there is nothing ordinary about any sunrise that I have ever seen) But this morning’s manna from heaven was certainly spectacular. This gift is food for my soul, to prepare me for and sustain me through whatever this day will bring, Beauty in the unexpected. Snowfall in late April definitely qualifies as the unexpected. This morning miracle amid the mundane prompts me to praise the Sender of the snow, the Giver of every good gift, the Creator of all the universe, the Orchestrator of my ordinary days, which turn out to be not so ordinary after all. Just look how this one has begun! I am reminded that –

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Today, I am witness once again to the wonders of the work of His hands – today, along with all creation I –

“Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him. . . . Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn – shout for joy before the Lord, the King. Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” (Psalm 98:1-9)

“All the earth bows down to You; they sing praise to You, they sing praise to Your name.” (Psalm 66:4)

so, on this not so ordinary day –

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.” (Psalm 150:6)

sincerely, Grace Day

Is there such a thing as an ordinary day? Or is each day a gift, extraordinary in its own right? Do these extraordinary days come wrapped in the cloak of the everyday, the ordinary, the mundane and so escape my notice? Psalm 118:24 proclaims,

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” King David writes these words in Psalm 139:16,

“All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be”

So maybe there’s no such thing as an ordinary day. If each day is already numbered and known to God shouldn’t I be making the most of each and every one of them? Ephesians 5:15-16 gives me this instruction regarding how to spend my days,

“Be very careful, then, how you (I) live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

It certainly does seem that these days are evil. I can feel surrounded by darkness if I don’t look for the light and let it into my life – the darkness will engulf me and I will lose my way. 1 John 1:5-7 tells me,

“This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”

When darkness surrounds me, I can’t find my way out of it. I need something or someone to show me the way – the way out of my darkness, the way out of my pain, the way out of despair. Jesus showed us the way (actually He said He was the way) saying in John 8:12,

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ ”

Even though these are dark days, John 1:5 reminds me that darkness does not win out over light.

“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.”

That’s good to know because some days it seems like the darkness is winning. It has been a painfully dark few days here in my city due to a shooting which took the lives of unsuspecting people, leaving gaping holes in the lives of those that knew and loved them. For them, for all of us, it was an ordinary day at work until it wasn’t anymore. But truly, there are no ordinary days. Jesus says in Matthew 6:34,

” . . . Each day has enough trouble of its own.” but He prefaces that statement with “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

How true! I never know what a day will bring. My day begins with a cold, gray drizzle, but ends with a warm, gloriously colored sunset. (other days can be the exact opposite – easier beginning, harder ending) Some days seem less eventful than others, perhaps not marked by any milestones or momentous occasions needing to be noted and duly celebrated. It is these seemingly more ordinary days, filled with the myriad, mundane interactions that make up our lives, that are so full of promise, possibility and potential. I don’t want to waste a one of them because as I am so often reminded these days, I don’t know which one will be my last. So each day becomes precious and special in its own right. There are no ordinary days. My Heavenly Father has numbered them all, each one of them, before they even came to be!

A dear friend just lost her granddaughter in a tragedy. As I grieve with her and for her and for her family, I can’t help but be reminded once again, that each day is a gift and each life is precious to the One who created all life. (not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from His notice – Matthew 10:29) I want to be thankful for that gift and to make the most of it. I want to make the most of each day I am given. William Penn must have felt that way too, because he said these words which have always resonated with me,

“I expect to pass through life but once. If, therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow-being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.”

I walk wide awake through life, with a heart full of holes from each and every loss, but a heart still beating nonetheless, until such time as my number of days has been fulfilled. That number of days is made up of ordinary days, which fully lived will add up to an extraordinary life. That’s the secret, isn’t it? This gift of life we have been given is extraordinary. But we live out this gift one day at a time, in the context of oh so ordinary days. And only in retrospect do we come to see that our days weren’t so ordinary after all. Yet I have taken so many of my days for granted by failing to be thankful, by failing to see the beauty, the uniqueness and the opportunities that each new day brings to me moment by moment.

I don”t get to choose the number of my days, but I do get to choose how I will live each one of them. Joshua challenged the Israelites to choose how they would spend their days, or more accurately to choose whom they would spend their days serving.

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

Choose this day, every day is a day of decision. I read about “today” in Hebrews 3:12-15,

“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the Living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. . . . Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”

As I write this post, I confess – today seems to be an ordinary day for me. And yet it is a day of importance and of decision, it is a day of important decisions as is every day I receive as a gift from God. I have just been given two important decisions to make – choosing this day whom I will serve and choosing not to harden my heart to my Heavenly Father’s voice as He speaks through His Holy Spirit. Yes, every day is a day of decisions that will have an eternal impact upon my life and the lives of those around me. That does not sound like an ordinary day to me. Or maybe that’s the irony. In the midst of an ordinary day, the extraordinary takes place. In the midst of the mundane, miracles arise. Everyday miracles are all around me. I just have to open my eyes (and my heart) to behold them.

Today is a day to mourn. Today is a day to rejoice. Today is a day for wailing. Today is a day for singing. Today is a day to decide and to declare who I will serve and what I will live for. Today is an ordinary day. Today is an extraordinary day. Today is a day for mustard seeds of faith to be planted. Today is a day for miracles amid the mundane to be harvested.

“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)

“This is the day the Lord has made, let us (I will) rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

sincerely, Grace Day

Lord make me a bridge, let others walk on me – may I never be a block, though You gave me liberty.

free from the law, I’m a servant of grace – but a block prevents others from seeing Your face.

a bridge lays down, making a way for all – a block causes others to stumble and to fall.

may I never be a stumbling block by doing whatever I can – while my brother needs a bridge to walk according to Your plan.

In You, Lord, I have freedom to do so many things – help me choose to be a bridge, though I desire wings.

may I help my brothers more by laying down my liberty in this life – than by standing as a stumbling block, which can only lead to strife.

In my liberty let me choose what helps my brother not to loose – his faith, his way, nor cause him doubt – that’s not what liberty’s about.

this liberty Lord, You’ve given me, not just for me alone – may I use it only if it strengthens my brother on his long journey home.

so a stumbling block upon no man’s path, may I ever be – let me be the bridge lying down in the gap, making clear the way to Thee.

“Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. (Romans 14:13)

sincerely, Grace Day

Puzzling – verb or adjective? Well, normally an adjective but I now use it as a verb ever since I recently completed a partially finished puzzle left by my older daughter. I refer to the activity of working on a puzzle as puzzling, just as working on a quilt is called quilting. Makes sense, doesn’t it? An added bonus is the pun that the act of puzzling, or of putting a puzzle together is in and of itself a puzzling endeavor. So it is both the verb and the adjective simultaneously.

Maybe because I was enthused by my recent success in finishing the aforementioned puzzle, I have started a new puzzle all on my own. It is proving to be a slow, frustrating process at present. Trying to find connections for all these small, similar, yet subtly different pieces of the puzzle is a painfully tedious task which hasn’t appeared to yield much progress to date. So far, there is no pretty picture emerging. I see just a bunch of disconnected puzzle pieces covering the table, strewn randomly, even chaotically about and I wonder how anything like a coherent image could ever come from so many disconnected pieces. Then I remember – they are all pieces of the same puzzle. They were made to connect with each other. That is their purpose.

I confess – I can’t help but identify with these puzzle pieces. Like each of them, I know there is a place where I fit in, a place that is a perfect fit for me. But trying to find that place is no small feat. I want to find where I fit into this puzzle of life that is God’s big picture puzzle. (God sees the big picture – I can’t, I don’t have His vantage point – you know, from all eternity, in the beginning God created – that kind of vantage point) I know each piece has a part to play. Which means I can know that I have a part to play in completing the bigger picture that God is putting together. In order to find my place, I have to find other pieces to connect to, pieces which connect with me so that together we form the larger picture God is creating. So my search for where I fit in becomes a search for connection because in connection I will find my place. Apart from connection, in isolation, I won’t ever find my place or my purpose. Puzzle pieces don’t make sense by themselves. Neither do people. They are, as we are, parts of a larger whole. Only when completely connected on all sides do we, like the puzzle pieces, fulfill our purpose of allowing the larger picture to be revealed and finished for all to see.

As I puzzle over my unfinished puzzle, I also puzzle over life, which seems to consist of myriad pieces all waiting for me to connect them and in so doing discover the beautiful picture that is revealed when all the pieces find their proper place. If only life could be solved like a puzzle. But that would require being able to connect the dots, or in this case, the puzzle pieces. And as I know from my experience as a puzzler, that is often difficult to do. Sometimes it is a seemingly impossible task – this finding of connections between random pieces and random people. And yet when the connections are discovered and put into place, something wonderful takes place and a part of the bigger picture emerges. It is an excruciating if not an exciting process, this puzzling.

Still, I agree with the king in one of my all time favorite musicals, “The King and I”, that life often “is a puzzlement.” I can totally understand how the King felt when he sang these words,

“There are times I almost think I am not sure of what I absolutely know – very often find confusion, in conclusion, I concluded long ago . . . In my head are many facts of which I wish I was more certain, I was sure – Is a puzzlement. And it puzzle me to learn That tho’ a man may be in doubt of what he know – Very quickly he will fight – He’ll fight to prove that what he does not know is so. . . . Oh, sometimes I think that people going mad. Ah, sometimes I think that people not so bad . . . but is a puzzlement.”

Those words express so much, don’t they? And they raise a puzzling life question, namely how can we know anything for sure? And how can we be sure of what we know? What is the truth and how do we find it? In 2 Timothy 1:9-12 Paul writes these words during a difficult time for him and for the people living in the world at that time,

“This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”

Imagine that. In this very puzzling world, unlike the King of Siam, who wasn’t sure about anything, Paul was sure about something. And the thing Paul was certain about was not an inconsequential thing either, such as being sure what his favorite food was or sure of directions to the next town. No Paul was sure of what he hoped for and certain of what he did not see. (Hebrews 11:1) Paul had faith. And his faith was in the person of Jesus Christ. Paul believed that Jesus was able to “guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.” What had Paul entrusted to Jesus? His life. Paul had given Jesus his life and Paul was convinced that Jesus would guard it until “that day”, which was the day of Jesus’s return.

Paul was in prison but he trusted that his story was still being written and that his place in the puzzle God was putting together was being lived out day by day as he looked to God to guide him. Paul knew God wasn’t finished with him or with the puzzle. He trusted God to put the puzzle together correctly and to put him in his proper, pre-appointed place in the puzzle when the time was right. Paul knew God was putting something together that was bigger than just himself. It’s like Peter said in 1 Peter 2:4-5,

“As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

One stone does not a house make. It takes many stones in the hands of a builder to create a building. It takes many puzzle pieces in the hands of a puzzler to complete a finished puzzle. The stones have to trust the builder to put them where they belong. The puzzle pieces have to trust the puzzler to put them in the space created just for them. When I am puzzling over where I fit in, trying desperately to find that space made just for me, I can trust my Heavenly Father because He alone knows what the finished picture will be. I trust Him to lead me and to put me right where He wants me to be. I can trust God because He is the perfect puzzler. His puzzling always results in perfection. In fact I read in Romans 8:28,

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

God is good. God works for the good in the lives of those who love Him. Of this truth, Paul was certain even while he lived in an uncertain world. You and I too, dear readers, live in a glaringly uncertain world at the moment. Yet we too, can say with Paul, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”

My Heavenly Father created all life, He gave me life, He sustains my life, He fills my life with His Presence, – He is the One who guards my life and leads me to the place in His puzzle that He has been preparing for me all along. He is preparing a place for you, too, dear readers. Even though life today is chaotic, confusing and uncertain, in the hands of the Master Puzzler it will all come out right.

As I experience all the events of this present time in history, I shake my head and say along with the King of Siam, “is a puzzlement.”

then I fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith, and I say, I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able, to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day. And I say along with Job,

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27)

life – is a puzzlement – but I know and I trust the Maker and the Master of this puzzle that is life . . .

sincerely, Grace Day

Like faith, (in my previous post) love is an action verb. Love is celebrated and promoted as a feeling, but love’s proof is in its behavior, in its actions. We could even say (paraphrasing James) love without deeds is dead. Love without loving actions isn’t love at all. Jesus described love to His disciples in this way, saying,

“If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching.” and “Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me.” (John 14:23 & 21)

Love is not a noun but what exactly is it? 1 John 4:10 explains it this way,

“This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Sending His Son is definitely an action, a really big one. So big all of human history is divided into before Jesus came and after Jesus came to earth. Jesus came here and showed us God’s love for us by His actions such as healing the sick, feeding the hungry, washing the disciples feet and His ultimate act of love, hanging on a cross, paying the price of our sin so we could be reconciled to a Holy God. John 15:13 confirms this as the greatest act of love saying,

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” And that’s exactly what Jesus did. He laid down His life for you and for me.

“The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.” (John 10:17-18)

So love is the sending a Savior, the sacrificing of an only Son, the laying down of one’s life for another person or for many people. 1 Corinthians 13:7 tells me some important actions that love is always busy doing.

“It (love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Protecting, trusting, hoping, persevering – love is a full time job for sure. I like how the Revised Standard translation expresses 1 Corinthians 13:7 in these words,

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Bearing, believing, hoping, enduring – love is definitely not a noun! Love is a word packed full of action! The Modern language translation of this same verse is even more descriptive of how love behaves saying,

“It (love) bears everything in silence, has unquenchable faith, hopes under all circumstances, endures without limit.”

Love, the feeling, would not be able to accomplish all the bearing, believing, hoping and enduring that love, the action verb, is called upon to do in order to accomplish love’s work in this world. Feelings are fleeting, changeable, unreliable companions at best, who can lead us easily away from where we were planning to go and away from the things love, as defined by its actions, is dictating that we do.

Jesus said the two greatest commandments were to love God first and foremost and to love others as ourselves. These were calls to action not calls for us to feel a certain way. Knowing this makes understanding Jesus’s words in Luke 6:27-31 easier.

“But I tell you who hear Me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

When Jesus told them to love their enemies, He also told them how to do it. Do good to them, bless them, pray for them, turn the other cheek, give to others and treat them well. Jesus was talking about our actions towards our enemies, not our feelings towards them. Here again, we see love identified by its actions. There are so many things that love does. But there is one thing love does not do. Romans 13:10 tells us,

“Love does no harm to its neighbor.”

That says it all, doesn’t it? This simple but profound truth would work wonders in our lives if we put it into practice. Don’t harm other people – with words or deeds because that’s not love. Love builds bridges not barriers. Love reaches out, seeking connection not division. The isolation imposed by COVID restrictions has made it easier for us to become divided from those around us, from those we used to share our days with, our lives with, until we couldn’t anymore. Hopefully, we will let love tear down the walls isolation has built and put pathways in their place – pathways that will connect us once again to each other in an ever expanding network of community. Love can’t be lived out in isolation. Other people are needed in order to put love into practice. There is something else that Romans 13:10 tells us, the second part of that verse reads,

“Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

The Living Bible says, “Love does no wrong to anyone. That’s why it fully satisfies all of God’s requirements. It is the only law you need.”

Could it be if we obeyed God’s law of love, (doing no harm) we would also be obeying all the other laws? This would seem to be the case. Love is and does many things – but these words from Romans 13:10 show me clearly how I can identify true love –

“Love does no harm . . .”

sincerely, Grace Day

Some might say that faith is a feeling but I think faith is a verb, an action verb. Faith is demonstrated by our actions. I show my faith by my actions. Hebrews 11:1-3 gives a definition of faith saying,

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

I was reminded of that “certain of what I do not see” aspect of faith as I walked yesterday under a gray cloudy sky. As I looked up, I noticed a small break in the clouds revealing a clear, bright blue patch of sky. It was only a tiny opening in the clouds but it bore witness to the fact that somewhere above the clouds, the sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue. The fact that I couldn’t see it, didn’t mean it didn’t exist. It was another “tree falling in the forest” moment. If I don’t see the sun rise because it’s raining or cloudy, does that mean the sun didn’t come up today? Or do I trust that the sun rose on schedule even though all I see before me is pouring rain?

Abraham was a man who showed his faith by his actions. By trusting and obeying God, Abraham demonstrated his faith. We read what happened in Genesis 12:1-4,

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.’ . . . So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.”

No map, no itinerary, no reservations made – just leave your, well your everything and go to, well it’s an unknown to you but not to Me – so I will show you the way – is essentially what God said to Abraham. (who at that time was called Abram) And Abraham responded with trust, obedience and faith. He packed up and followed faithfully where God led him. Abraham was truly “walking by faith and not by sight” because he didn’t know his destination. Only God did. And Abraham trusted God. He followed in faith. We see this exchange between God and Abraham in Genesis 15:5-7,

“He (God) took him (Abraham) outside and said, ‘Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness. He also said to him, ‘I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.’ ”

This promise of God to Abraham was pretty incredible considering that at the time Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were childless. Sarah was barren and Abraham who had been seventy-five years old when he started on this journey, wasn’t getting any younger. To be asked to believe that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars when he didn’t have even one child at the time, would have stretched anyone’s faith. And yet we read, “Abram believed the Lord.” He had faith and he showed that faith by continuing to follow and obey God.

As it turns out, this wasn’t Abraham’s most difficult test of faith, incredible as that promise must have seemed to a childless couple. Later, Abraham and Sarah would miraculously conceive and Sarah would give birth to a son, Issac. But Abraham’s faith would be tested again even more severely than before.

“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, . . . ‘Take your son, your only son, Issac, whom you love, and to to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.’ ” (Genesis 22:1-2)

So Abraham took Issac and traveled up the mountain as God had instructed him to do. He built an altar, arranged the wood, bound Issac, laid him on the altar and took a knife to slay his son. It was at this moment things changed,

“But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, . . . ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.’ ” (Genesis 22:11-12)

Abraham had responded in obedience and faith once again and had passed the test. We see what the results of his act of faith will be as we read these words in Genesis 22:16-18,

“”I swear by Myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.”

To think that you and I are blessed and all nations are blessed because Abraham in faith, obeyed God! Could it be that my obedience and faith matter to God also? Could God use your actions or my actions of faith to bring blessings to other people? Years later, people still remembered Abraham’s actions at that altar on the mountain. James writes about Abraham’s act of sacrifice in his letter to the twelve tribes saying,

“Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isacc on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.” (James 2:21-23)

It would seem that faith is a necessary prerequisite for obedience. Faith enables me, makes me bold enough to obey God. And my obedience being the result of my faith, is the evidence of my faith and completes my faith, as James said in his letter. James sums this relationship up with these words,

“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds (action) is dead.” (James 2:26)

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17)

Our faith is revealed in our actions. Our faith comes to life in our actions. Our faith is lived out in our actions. I guess that’s why James says,

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22-25, italics mine)

faith really is an action verb!

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22, Revised Standard translation)

sincerely, Grace Day

I slow down involuntarily like I’ve done so many times before. But this is no longer my destination. My journey is not over. This is no longer home. I am not headed here, I just have to pass by on my way to somewhere else. But today as I drive down this once familiar street, much changed and yet much the same, it hits me. Though memory lane is usually a euphemistic term, for me, this street is more than a metaphorical memory lane. This street is literally a lane full of memories for me.

First I pass my old Jr. High School, which is now an empty lot as the building has been bulldozed long ago. Still standing, though in the process of falling down, is the old gym which sat next to the now missing school building. Still standing strong are a couple of trees which graced the building’s entrance and provided diversion for me as I sat in my second floor English class looking out the window. In the next block, I pass my grandparent’s house, now occupied by strangers. So many of our family gatherings took place here. I remember all the Thanksgivilngs and the Fourth of July backyard picnics complete with badminton. I had a certain tree in the backyard I liked to climb which gave me a special place all my own.

As I continue down the street, in the next block I pass my elementary school. It is bigger now, some new additions have been added onto the original building. Still, some of the field remains where the track was and a practice field for football. Now it is inevitable. If I continue down this road, this memory lane, in the next block I will come to a curve in the road and I will be home. Well, in another not so long ago time, I would have been home. But not now. The old brick barn is still standing right where it has stood for longer than I know and so is the house behind it. But they are no longer home because mom is no longer there.

The next house I pass, which sits next to this one, separated only by a side street, houses as many of my memories as the house by the barn. You see, I grew up in this small house with the big yard – a yard full of clover and croquette and black walnuts and lots of fallen leaves in the fall. The house with the barn was where my other grandmother lived during my childhood years. We eventually moved there and that house became home. Home is where your family lives.

My trip down memory lane is not over yet. As I continue down the street a couple more blocks, I arrive at my church. Well, it was my church my entire childhood and until I grew up and moved away, it was the only church I had ever known. Full of memories both mundane and profound, from Sunday evening youth choir practice to communion on a Sunday morning, this was the place of greatest impact on my life. So much more than Sunday morning memories, the life lessons I learned from God’s word are teaching me still. I remember my Sunday School teachers and feel fresh gratitude for each and every one of them as I drive by this landmark on my memory lane.

Down the road from my church is my high school. This is the last landmark on my trip down memory lane. Is it coincidence that the two places I spent the most time outside of home, school and church, are literally next to each other on the same street? I seldom drive down memory lane anymore, both literally and figuratively. Actually, the former leads to the latter. When I do have occasion to return to my hometown, my literal drive down my old street propels me on that accompanying journey of the mind, revisiting memories stored away, forgotten until called forth by a journey such as today’s.

At this point I recall Thomas Wolfe’s poignant words, “you can’t go home again.” Maybe that’s why even though I slow down as I drive past, I don’t stop. It is not my home anymore. Mom’s not there. I can’t go in. I can’t go back. I guess that’s why they call it a “trip down memory lane” – because it is a trip but not a destination. I have to keep on moving. No stopping on Memory Lane. Reality road is where I live now. In the present. In the here and now of today.

Funny to think that someday my present Reality Road will turn into my Memory Lane. For now, I hang onto the steering wheel, glancing at these landmarks as I pass by, not daring to linger long though the memories are good ones – but the loss of those I have loved too much to let fully in to the moment. Trips down memory lane are best when brief. So I drive on, reminded of what was by the landmarks that still stand, bearing witness to what was, giving my memories the substance of the reality from which they arose.

Still, it never feels right to round the curve and keep on going. That used to be the end point, my destination. That used to be home. I confess – It never feels right to drive on by. As I do, I feel directionless. What is my destination now? These words from John 14:1-3 answer that question in this way when Jesus said,

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”

This assurance of a destination, a home, contains all the comfort, the hope, the peace of mind and the promise of joy that I need. I have a secure, eternal destination being prepared for me. No matter how many hard places my Reality Road takes me, I will arrive at my desired destination Jesus is preparing for me. I will arrive at home. I won’t have to drive on by.

“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

sincerely, Grace Day

Do you ever watch a movie you’ve already watched or read a book you’ve already read? I confess – I frequently find myself doing both of these things. The element of surprise is definitely gone but not of satisfaction as I relive the drama, the dilemma, the mystery, the struggle, the trial that needs to be overcome, along with the main characters. I can again be drawn into the story, even though I know how it will turn out. While the element of surprise is missing in my rereads/repeats, also absent is my fear and my worry over the outcome of the story, which I normally experience with a first read or a first viewing. Why? Because the first time I don’t know “the rest of the story.” I don’t know how it is all going to work out for each of the characters in the narrative. Will it end well? Will it end in defeat, disaster or death? Who is the killer? Will they finally get together and find true love? So many unknowns.

But with the reread or the rewatch, the fear, the anxiety, the worry and yes the suspense and the surprise are gone as I relive the story along with the people in the narrative. Except this time, I know how the story ends. This time, I know “the rest of the story.” I can read it/watch it without despairing that the hero/heroine will ever overcome the obstacles and achieve victory. Because often, just when all is lost and all options are exhausted, something unexpected happens and everything changes in that moment. All things are possible once again. I love a happy ending – and ending full of hope and possibility. Who doesn’t? Those are my favorite movies. Those are my favorite stories.

Maybe that’s why I revisit them over and over again. For some that might be the “Rocky” movies. For me the stories told in “Glory Road”, “Stand and Deliver”, “Hidden Figures”, “The Ron Clark Story”, “Harriet”, “October Sky”, “Rudy” and so many more, are the stories that continue to inspire because they are true and because they remind me not to give up but to hold on to hope and to keep fighting the good fight.

Today is a day for revisiting an age old story, the story of Good Friday. Good Friday is a memorable day in the history of the world. It is on this day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This is one time I am glad I already know “the rest of the story.” I am imagining today what it was like for Jesus’s disciples, family and friends on the first Good Friday more than two thousand years ago. They didn’t know “the rest of the story.” They were living the story in real time. And the story was still being written right before their eyes. (of course God had written this story from the foundation of the world and the prophets had foretold it years ago but still, they didn’t seem to know how it would end)

So let’s join their story in progress. Their leader, their rabbi/teacher, their friend, their miracle working healer, the One who raised Lazarus from the dead, walked on water, calmed the sea and fed the five thousand was now hanging on a cross, being crucified between two criminals, as a public spectacle for all to witness. Three years earlier these men had left their families and their jobs to follow this Jesus and join Him in His work. Now they were watching Jesus die and wondering what would become of them.

I wonder if any of them recalled Jesus’s words to them from Luke 9:22, when He said –

“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders. chief priests and teachers of the law, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

We read the same account in Mark 9:31-32, told in these words,

“because He was teaching His disciples, He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise.’ But they did not understand what He meant and were afraid to ask Him about it.”

And now Jesus was hanging on a cross and there was nothing they could do to rescue Him. Luke 23:46 records for us how it ended,

“Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ When He had said this, He breathed His last.”

Our story continues,

“Now there was a man named Joseph, . . . a good and upright man . . . Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’s body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. . . . The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how His (Jesus) body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.”

They were preparing spices and perfumes because that was the custom to prepare a dead body for burial. These women understood the finality of death. They were preparing for a funeral, not a resurrection. The disciples had scattered, devastated by the events they had just witnessed. What began with such promise had ended with such a painful punishment. Did any of them call to mind Jesus’s words in John 16:16 during the dark days that followed His death?

“In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me.”

Jesus’s disciples must have been filled with confusion, doubt, fear and despair following His death on that cross. How long that first night and the following day and night must have been. Death is so final. They had no plan B. They had each given their lives to Jesus and now He was gone. They had faced challenging times while Jesus was with them but He had been there to teach them and to guide them and to show them the way through trouble and hardship. Doubt now seemed to fill all the spaces their faith had filled just a few days earlier. Jesus, the light of the world, had died and the world was once again a dark place.

I can’t imagine witnessing the crucifixion of Jesus and not knowing “the rest of the story.” But that’s exactly where the men and women of that time in history found themselves, on the other side of the cross, where “the rest of the story” had not yet come to pass. They didn’t know a Resurrection was on the way. They didn’t know there would be light in the darkness and hope for the hopeless once again. They didn’t know the Creator of all life was about to triumph over death.

All they knew was that this miracle working Messiah lay in a tomb and everything He had began seemed now to be finished. They were sure it was over. There were no more options open, no more cards to play, no more moves to make – the last chapter of this story had been written. Now the book was closed, the tomb was sealed with a large stone, the end had come and endings are just that – the end of the road, the end of the journey with no more paths to take, no way to continue on, and no way of escape. Endings are full of the futility the appearance of finality brings with it. If only the disciples could have known that there was a “rest of the story” yet to come, as they mourned their loss. If only they could have known that this “end” would soon give way to a new beginning, their grief could have contained hope. But this wasn’t a reread of a familiar story (unless you count the Old Testament prophecies). This story was being written even as the disciples grieved its ending and Jesus’s death. They didn’t know. They didn’t know that they just had to hang on for a little while – hang on to something – to faith, to hope, to the words Jesus had spoken in their presence. They didn’t know this story wasn’t over. They didn’t know there was to be a surprise ending (really a new beginning) – an unforeseen yet long foretold plot twist which would fulfill every prophesy and save every soul. What a rescue! What a comeback! The greatest comeback story of all time! But they didn’t know “the rest of the story.” They didn’t know – a miracle was on the way! Our story continues –

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. . . . suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. . . . the men said, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee.’ ” (Luke 24:1-6) Matthew 28:5-8 tells it this way,

“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples: He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him. . . . So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples.”

What a joyous reunion that was! The resurrection of Jesus changed everything for everyone! After being reunited, Jesus continued teaching His disciples saying,

“This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. . . . This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what My Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:44-49)

And preach the good news of Jesus’s resurrection they did! This good news is still being shared and celebrated more than two thousand years later. Today we are remembering the crucifixion, but even as we relive it, we have the advantage that knowing “the rest of the story” gives us. We have the assurance, the sure hope that Sunday we will celebrate the Resurrection. We know how the story ends! We can read the book! (the Bible) And like with so many of my favorite true-life stories, remembering the defeats and the difficulties, makes reliving the victories all the more joyful.

in these days when hope seems to be put on hold indefinitely, I will rejoice in these words as I celebrate what came out of what seemed man’s darkest defeat – God’s greatest victory and gift to us – eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ.

“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

sincerely, Grace Day

I am experiencing the tree falling in the forest dilemma once again. I finally completed a jigsaw puzzle but with no one here to bear witness to this accomplishment of mine, the question can be raised – ‘did I really finish the puzzle or not?’ I say finish because my older daughter started the puzzle and did about three-fourths of it before she left. So all I had to do was to fill in the remaining gaps, she had done the harder work of bringing the puzzle to this point. I confess – I am intimidated by all those tiny pieces and I further confess – I felt challenged in her absence, compelled even, to finish what she had started. So rather than putting the puzzle pieces back in the box, having never completed the picture that the puzzle would reveal, I dedicated myself to putting the remaining puzzle pieces into their proper places, thereby completing the picture.

Trouble is, they are tiny pieces which all look alike basically. Actually, there are differences in shape and in shading, but they are subtle differences, not obvious to the casual observer. These minute differences, which make all the difference in finding each piece’s proper place, only become apparent as I spend time studying the pieces and the possible connections available to make. It is a slow, time consuming process, this pastime of puzzling. Nevertheless, there is such a feeling of accomplishment when I find the proper place for each piece (after despairing of ever finding a fit for some of the pieces) and there is the thrill of victory when the puzzle is finally complete, every piece in place.

Too bad life isn’t like my puzzle – every piece in place, connecting together to create a beautiful picture. I think it was intended to be that way, but ever since ‘the fall’, which caused separation from our Creator, life has been full of missing pieces, disconnected pieces, pieces that don’t seem to fit together the way we want them to do in order to create the picture of our life that we are longing to have revealed. But maybe that’s part of the problem. With my puzzle, there is a picture on the box of what the puzzle will look like when all the pieces are correctly connected together. I can use that picture to guide me as I attempt to put the pieces together in the way they were meant to fit together. If I succeed in putting each piece in its proper place, my puzzle is a perfect reflection of the picture on the puzzle box.

But putting together the puzzle that is my life isn’t so easy. I don’t have a picture on a box to guide me. Then I realize the picture that I need is in God’s Word. The Bible contains the blueprint for my life. Everything I need to put the pieces together correctly is given to me in my Heavenly Father’s love letter to me, His Word, the Bible. I was made to reflect His glory, and when all the pieces are in place, that will happen. The master plan is His and I often don’t see the whole picture because my vision is so limited. That’s why I have to trust Him. By myself, I’m not all that, but connected to other people in God’s bigger puzzle picture, we all together become a thing of beauty, a beautiful reflection of the One who designed the mosaic and designed it with a specific place for each of us in His finished work.

What does a puzzle look like if even one piece is missing? It is glaringly incomplete. It is unfinished. Its value is diminished. Its beauty is marred. It is not whole because it has a hole. God feels the same way about us as His creation. Look what He says about the stars in Isaiah 40:26,

” . . . He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”

Our Creator is a God of completion, of perfection. Not even one star in all the galaxies of all the universe is missing! Likewise, I will not be, you will not be that missing puzzle piece in God’s mosaic. John 10:27-30 clearly explains it this way,

“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

We are held securely in God’s hands. He has a purpose for us. He has a place for us. You and I have a specific place to fill that no one else can fill. I know that in my puzzle, only one specific piece will fit perfectly in the space that is its to fill. No other piece is the exact right shape, the exact right shade and color combination to connect correctly to all the other puzzle pieces adjoining its space. 1 Peter 2:4-5 describes it like this,

“As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

We are parts of a spiritual house being built, being put together by God for a purpose – the purpose of offering spiritual sacrifices to God – the purpose of reflecting His glory when the house, the mosaic, the puzzle God is putting together is complete. 1 Corinthians 12 tells us just how vital each piece, each part is to the whole and therefore is to God –

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. . . . But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. . . . Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 18-20, 27)

the lessons of the puzzle are many – I have a place, I have a purpose, I am a part of something bigger than myself. You, too, dear readers, have a place, have a purpose – you are a part of something bigger than yourself. We all search for a place to belong. As it turns out, God created us and prepared for us, prepared for you and for me, a place to belong, from the very beginning.

“For (you are, I am) we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Even if I can’t figure out quite where I fit in this big puzzle that is life, God knows which space is the space that only I can fill because He designed me uniquely, specifically with that space in mind, for me to fill that particular place in the puzzle. Being placed in that unique space requires that I connect perfectly with the puzzle pieces that surround me on every side. When I make those connections, more of the mosaic God is creating is revealed as it comes to life. What a beautiful, powerful picture of God’s loving intention towards each one of us.

We were created for connection! Our divine purpose and potential are only realized as we are connected to those around us, as we are connected to each other. We cannot fulfill our God given calling in isolation. The puzzle pieces are interlocking parts of a bigger picture. By themselves, no one piece conveys any sense of the whole. Only when the individual pieces are connected to each other, does the picture emerge. Maybe that’s why this past year has been so difficult. We have all faced hardships, loss and trials in our lives before. But we have always been able to face disasters in community with others, our families, friends, neighbors, coworkers, fellow church members etc. We did not have to face illness, unemployment, fear and uncertainty alone – until COVID. We were isolated at the very time we most needed connection.

Hopefully, it is now a time of reconnection, a time of finding our place in the puzzle and locking arms with our connecting pieces of the puzzle. I want to find and to fill my place in God’s puzzle. The beautiful thing about this mosaic put together by God is that each and every piece is irreplaceable and of infinite value. That’s you and that’s me, that is each and every piece/person created in God’s image. We are all equally precious in God’s sight and so should we then be in each other’s sight. I recognize that without you, my brothers and my sisters, without even one of you, this puzzle which God is putting together, will have a hole in it. This puzzle will not be complete. Each puzzle piece is uniquely irreplaceable, just as each person is to God. This is the lesson my puzzle taught me today.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” (Matthew 18:12-14)

Today, may you know how much your Heavenly Father loves you – you have a place in His puzzle – a space all your own, that only you can fill . . .

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

sincerely, Grace Day