Not too long ago on a Sunday after church, I asked the usual question of my 6 year old son….”What was your lesson about today?”  I wish you could have seen the expression of excitement on his sweet face.  He told me a story that was oh so familiar.  About a man, on a road and then there was a bright light and a voice calling his name!  I knew who my son was referring to, even if the name was forgotten.  It was Saul.

The beginning of Acts 9 portrays a beautiful example of one of the most valuable lessons I have learned in my life so far.  Grace.  Saul was persecuting God’s people and yet God extended His grace to this man and turned his life around, all starting on a dirt road to Damascus.

To be honest, the word grace had always been the term for the evening meal’s prayer or the mannerism of a lady in my “younger” years.  I truly did not understand the depth or actual meaning of the word up until about 4 years ago.  I was a mom with small babies, living in a new place, struggling with issues that were festering.  I had not committed the same sins as Saul, but my heart was similarly confused as His.  Here I had grown up in the church, read my Bible, made sure I didn’t miss a church service and oh boy…now I was even a “pastor’s wife”!  I should have it all together by now, right?

Understanding God’s grace is a journey.  I still don’t feel like I have grasped its meaning or seen its end in my life.  Every day God gives me His grace.  When I look at my children, or remember my past, or ask His forgiveness for the sins I had made that day. 

Saul’s work was horrific in his past, yet God used a moment in his life to turn everything around for His glory.  Then to further extend His grace by using Saul (Paul) in such a mighty way to build His kingdom.  I for one, am incredibly grateful that the Lord sees our potential and chooses to (sometimes gently, sometimes a little harder) show us grace that we might wake up and make a change!

This is one of my favorite choruses that you can sing as your prayer with me today!:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.  Amazing love, now flowing down.  From hands and feet, that were nailed to the tree.  As grace flows down and covers me. 

Chorus: It covers me, It covers me, It covers me, And covers me.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 16th, 2007 at 11:10 pm and is filed under Daily Readings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.