GRACE AND MERCY
Kathryn Rodriguez
We all face adversity of different kinds. We think we can handle it all and then we discover we can’t. We search for our own understanding of things and stress, worry, and fret about figuring it all out. Some say it’s human nature. Some say it is a matter of being in control. Some say it’s what we are supposed to do. We take for granted that God is there in it with us. We assume He’ll be involved, yet don’t invite Him in. We don’t surrender our adversity to Him and instead live with the negativity of the adversity we face. Then we blame Him for not doing what we expect him to.
I have felt as if I have been losing in a never-ending water balloon fight. I have been hit and hit and hit and hit. Finally, I surrendered. Not to the supposed enemy, but to God. I opened the door wide and asked for Him to take me out of the battle or equip me to fight. Show me, Lord, show me. He did. He said to lean into Him and envelop myself in His grace and mercy. And then I will see what He wants to provide. And I have had provisions that I would have never dreamed of.
As we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord this advent season, let’s remember that we need not be the innkeepers that kept denying vacancy to a pregnant woman and her husband who were facing adversity we couldn’t even fathom. Let’s open our heart, minds, and souls to the possibilities by inviting Him in. He, who knows what it is like to be a child, youth, and young man facing adversity, and who is here for the transformation of the world because of His love for us. Put CHRIST in the season of Christmas, by inviting Him in and celebrating the gift of Him this Advent season and forevermore.