What I’ve learned from being married for thirty years is that grace is unavoidable if you’re going to make it!

No matter how strong the attraction is, no matter how aligned you are in your goals, no matter how much you share the same values, you will find new and creative ways to annoy and offend one another.

These offenses, whether major or minor, are in some ways unavoidable.  The weight of our humanity has a way of pressing on all of us.  Our selfishness, clumsiness, and stupidity show up subtly and simultaneously at the most inopportune times.  And none of us is all right, or all wrong, all the time! We are all sinners, no?

When we were counseling before our wedding, our pastor soberly reminded us that we were both marrying sinners. And as such, we would never find ourselves closer to another sinner!  The idea was not very romantic at the time, but it was absolutely true!  The beauty, however, he said, was that we would never have a greater opportunity to experience or extend the grace that looks beyond faults and looks out for the best in and for another person!

He was absolutely right!  Today, I am particularly grateful for the wisdom in his words!  And, I have learned to see his words as the lynchpin of any healthy human relationship.

Husbands and wives.

Parents and children.

Brothers and sisters.

Friends and family.

Coworkers and colleagues.

Neighbors and associates…

We can get along, grow along, and go along, beyond trials and adversities, when we lead with grace and love is our default.  We can endure and overcome tragedies and trifles when we lead with grace!  

And while it may sound absolutely ridiculous, we learn this most profoundly when we confess that we need it as much as we need to give it! Get it?!

Lead with grace and make lover your default!

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam

I’ve got a very early start this morning, and I’m straining to hear what Good News the day will deliver.  I refuse to turn on the television, because I don’t want to hear about the latest overnight shooting or the antics going on in our government.  But the pause, I know, will only be temporary.

As I’m preparing for my first meeting, I can hear my youngest getting ready for school, and guess what?  She’s singing! “I am still here, and it’s by the grace of God…” 

Thank you, Jesus.

We are still here.  By the grace of God.  Things are in no way ideal, and there is much to lament with all that’s going on, but we are still here!  God is yet holding all things together.  As fraught as things are, as upsetting as circumstances are, and as disappointed as we may feel – we are all living, breathing proof – witnesses to the grace of God.  We are still here.  There is breath in our bodies.  There is blood running warm in our veins.  We have the mind to read/write these words.  We are still here.  This is grace.  

We are still here. What will this grace produce in us today? My hope is that as we receive this grace, this grace will produce within us more grace until it overflows and extends to those around us.  This is the grace that gives life and transforms, no?

We are still here, by the grace of God.  It is living and active – it is at work within us – producing within us – world-changing power!  Let this be our witness, let this be our protest against the pressure and dark powers that stokes fears that leave us to despair.  We are still here by the grace of God.

Thank you, Jesus.  

¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 

Colossians 1:13-14

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam