Grit & Grace

Grit & Grace

You can’t open up social media, turn on the television, or even walk through the store without being inundated with messages about the COVID 19 virus. My sister and I both work in Highered and our responsibilities, our “normal”, has been turned upside down, as campus’ scramble to provide a safe learning environment in the wake of health concerns. On top of this, today, my daughter’s school announced they will be closing for at least the next 2.5 weeks! The uncertainty of it all, well, can just feel a bit much at times.  

As I quieted myself for a few moments, I remembered a sunny summer day, while swimming in Lake Michigan, that I found myself drawn out to deeper water. Our family had been standing close to shore as we monitored the children playing in the gently tumbling surf. I ventured out past the first sandbar, beyond the buoy dancing on the waves, leaving behind all the other swimmers.

The sounds of humanity began to melt into the warm breeze as I turned my back to the shoreline, released the air in my lungs, and allowed my body to give way to the rise and fall of the incoming swells. I looked out across the horizon and got lost in the cool blues and greens illuminated by the glistening rays of golden sunlight. Peace.

The darkness of the deep water closed in around my body. I moved my feet in a circular motion to keep my head above the waves. I gave no thought to what might be lurking below me. I was too caught up in the moment to be concerned about the unknown. I just knew, in that space, I felt at rest, and the pressures and anxieties of life seemed nonexistent.

As I allowed my cares to be washed away, my mind began to reflect on Isaiah 43:1-5.

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

Isaiah goes on to express God’s deep love and heart of restoration for his people.

The promise of God is not to keep me from experiencing the deep waters, or the rivers of difficulty, or the fire of tribulation, but that he will be with me. He will be present. Close. He promises he is fully aware of our circumstances, whether we were brought to that place because of our own choices, the choices of others, or just life circumstances. He will be near.

Sometimes there is beauty to be found in the deep waters. There can be peace in the midst of the unknown. I don’t have to have it all figured out, or know what lies beneath me. I can rest in the ebb and flow of the waves, keeping my eyes on the horizon, watching the Light bring the colors of my world to life. Experiencing peace, beyond the buoy.

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Grit & Grace

Have you ever tweaked your foot, or knee, through just the simple movement of stepping down off of a step, or an uneven surface? Well, I have. It can be so frustrating at the time. At the end of January in 2019, while walking in to the hospital to visit our newborn granddaughter, I stepped off the side of the curb and felt something in my left bottom heel twinge. For about six weeks afterward I experienced pain off and on when I walked. Typically, it was after having been off of my feet for a little while and I would stand to walk again. It felt like a deep bruise and in compensating for it, I found myself getting off balance as I tried to not place my weight on that foot.

I began to contemplate the importance of being steady. Solid. Surefooted. When we are not able to walk surefooted, it can have ramifications for our whole body. It can cause pain and discomfort as your body tries to compensate. Whether caused by an injury, or by walking on uneven ground, being steady when you walk is important to good health.

The Word of God is filled with references of walking on solid ground, or of being surefooted in times of peril. A few examples I found were:

Psalm 40:2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

Psalm 18: 31-33, 2 Samuel 22. For who is God except the LORD? Who but our God is a solid rock? God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.

Habakkuk 3:19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.

When we are unsure. When it feels like we are pressed on every side. When the ground we are walking on seems unsteady. When we loose our balance, whether through our pain and brokenness, or, through the shifting sand beneath our feet. The circumstances of life. We can have confidence the Sovereign Lord will make a way. We can place our hope in him.

There is an old hymn whose lyrics state:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

One morning, out of the blue, I woke up and found my foot no longer hurt when I went to stand. The pain disappeared as quickly as it appeared. There was a process of healing that took place between that first twinge and the chilly February morning when my foot hit the ground pain free. I experienced some discomfort as I would stretch out the muscles and tendons in the bottom of my foot trying to create some relief. But healing did come.

My prayer for you, is that whatever pain you are experiencing, whether through what life has thrown your way, or maybe even through a misstep, you will find yourself standing up straight and tall. Pain free. It may not happen overnight, but a time will come when you will wake up to the dawn of a new day, and when you slip your feet out from under the covers and place your feet on the ground, the Solid Rock, you will realize the pain is no longer there.

He will make you surefooted. He will give you the strength to stand on solid ground. He will steady you. He will bring the healing you need. You will run, not just walk, on the heights.

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Grit & Grace

I recently heard Dr. Mark Quanstrom, from Olivet Nazarene University, speak on being the light of the world. He shared from the well-known passage in Matthew 5 that has been titled the Sermon on the Mount. In our minds it can be easy to read that passage as, we are becoming the light of the world, but, no, it says we are the light of the world.

14 You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

NIV

A group of misfits and broken people. We are who he is speaking to. Jesus opened the gates of the kingdom to the poor in spirit. The mourners. Those whose lives, by the standard of the world, might not seem all put together and shiny. We are the light. We are the conduit whom he chooses to use to display his love to others. To be his hands and feet. To be his mouth piece to proclaim the good news. He uses us to reflect his image of goodness and kindness to others.

15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

NIV

The amazing thing about light is that it displaces darkness, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant it is. So if you feel like your light is just a flickering ember, let it shine. If you feel like you don’t have all the answers, be humble, and let it shine. Don’t hide the light you have to share under a veil of shame. Let it shine before others. You can do so in faith, believing, because you know the source of the light is not empowered by you, but the Light that was present at the foundation of the world.

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