By 
The camera takes you inside the house,
carrying you down through the floorboards,
circling chandeliers,
gliding past bookshelves...
It's a commercial for air freshener, but it has me thinking about grace.
Not too long ago my youngest child graduated high school,
bringing to an end three decades of bus schedules, backpacks, unfinished homework;
ushering in an era of empty calendars and deserted bedrooms.
And I can't help but think of grace.
On a recent date, in the darkness of a movie theater,
I wound my hand inside my husband's,
leaned my head on his shoulder,
and remembered grace.
“Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within…
Grace that is greater than all (my) sin”
—Julia H. Johnston, 1911
Ah yes, grace:
unmerited favor,
unearned gift,
no strings attached.
The ultimate gift that keeps on giving.
But grace is so much more!
Jesus is the manifestation of God’s grace:
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.”
Titus 2:11, NASB
Grace was, at the very beginning:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1, NASB
Grace owes nothing to me and is wholly dependent on God;
yet, from the very moment that He called me His,
grace moved through my life,
wrapping itself like tendrils,
attaching to my guilt, my shame, my sin,
casting light into the deepest crevices of my heart,
winding its way around the frayed ends of my need,
cinching up the edges,
holding it all together.
Through thirty-nine years of marriage and parenting—
every child, every day, year after year:
the moments,
the remembrance,
the promise of grace.
By grace He chose me:
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
Ephesians 2:4-5, ESV
He gives me the faith to stand in His grace:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2, NASB
In my weakness, His power is perfected and I know the sufficiency of His grace:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV
And then, peace;
grace and peace,
like sunshine and warmth.
Peace allows rest, certain of God's sovereign hand:
in illness, arguments, wayward children, empty bank accounts;
leads me into the comfort of the knowledge of His perfect plan and purpose,
even in the midst of injustice and strife,
choosing to trust and believe,
because of grace.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Colossians 1:19-20, ESV
Nanette Smith
A transplanted Texan, Nanette Smith spent most of her life in western Pennsylvania where she and her husband Tom raised their 6 children. When not homeschooling her children or helping her husband run his construction business, Nanette volunteered with Samaritan’s purse, crisis pregnancy centers, and served as Women’s Ministry Director. In 2013 God moved Nanette and her family to Texas and she attended her first Womenary class in 2016. Currently Nanette works as the Missions Coordinator at Mobberly Baptist Church in Longview, TX. When not working or playing with one of her 11 grandchildren, Nanette enjoys reading, writing, photography and baking. 
