FINDING THE PROMISE OF GRACE

THE PROMISE OF GRACE

Luke 10:38-42 

After wiping the sweat from her face with the back of her hand, Martha threw down a dishtowel and then stormed out of the kitchen. “Where is that lazy girl?” she fumed to herself.

Finding her sister in the living room chatting with their guest of honor, Mary lost her temper. Her face red with anger and the heat of the kitchen, she started shaking her finger at Jesus.

“Lord, I’ve been on my feet all day working my fingers to the bone to get ready for this dinner party, and Mary’s in here instead of helping me. It’s not fair that I have to do all the work! Do something about it! Send her back to the kitchen, now!”

On and on she went, and when he could get a word in edgewise, Jesus calmly said, “Martha, Martha, Martha. It’s only a meal – over in fifteen minutes. Don’t let it distract you from the promise of grace of this moment.”

Like Martha, we too can become distracted by all the things we have to do and the demands by others on our time and attention. Other things can distract us, like worries and problems, and when we’re going through major changes in our lives, we can be overwhelmed by our reactions to those changes and unable to feel where God is present with us, to see the promise of grace that is being masked by the distractions.

And right now, that’s the kind of distractions I’m dealing with in my life.

In his search for employment in his field, my husband has realized that the job market for his skills and his expertise has dried up in Iowa. During all this time, I have been praying that God open the door to a new job. The door God opened is a job out of state.

So, I have been shaking my finger at God. “This is not what I wanted! How is this going to bless us? This is not fair! With everything else that is happening in my ministry, with everything Tom and I have had to go through, this is not fair at all! This is not fair to me!”

And then, Jesus said to me, “Lane, Lane, Lane ...” Having gone down this road before, I knew what I needed to do.

With Jesus, I honestly named the feeling I have – anger, resentment, fear and grief. I had to be honest about being angry with God. It’s okay to be mad at God as long as we are willing to listen to God’s response.

Because these feels were so strong, and I was being so reactive, it probably meant that there was pain or wounds from the past that were coming back to the surface. What I discovered was that I was re-experiencing the same feelings I had when I was in seminary and working as a student associate pastor as well as trying to maintain our home by myself while Tom was working in Richmond, Virginia. It was so hard and so lonely without Tom there, and I know it was only by the grace of God that I got through it.

Only by the grace of God. Only by the grace of God. With Jesus, I’ve been witnessing to myself, reminding myself that God’s love was active and working for my good in the overwhelming mess and uncertainty that was my life. Jesus was there with me, every minute, a constant companion that got me through exams and deadlines, the demands of ministry and plumbing crises.

Now, with Jesus’ help, I’m moving into surrender, laying down all my fears and worries, all the distractions of the present that are preventing me from seeing the promise of God’s grace. at this time in my life. And I’m finding some peace.

Peace in knowing this: that my life is a work in progress, with more things to learn, more healing to come and a day-by-day walk with Christ that strengthens my faith and my confidence in God’s love for me. I know that God will complete that work in me, in all of us. And wherever tomorrow takes you and I, God will already be there waiting for us. And this, can never be taken away from us.