'Tis the Season

Tonight I went to a community Christmas event. My church set up a table where we gave away free coffee and hot chocolate.  We did this to spread the word and show Christ's love. Our table was swamped- not because  people were eager to hear the word, but because we had free stuff.

I grew aggravated as I tried to tell people about our church and all they wanted to know was where the creamer was. People complained that the cocoa tasted like water. Then when the cocoa ran out, they complained that we only had coffee.  When I invited them to come worship with us, many gave me this strange, pondering look or avoided eye contact altogether like I was making them uncomfortable.

When I got home tonight, I was discouraged to say the least. Then it hit me, if I'm discouraged when I give away free coffee, how heartbroken must Christ be? He gave his life to save us from our sins. I gave away coffee. If people can ignore His selfless, powerful and infinite gift, why shouldn't they ignore my small and temporary one?

My coffee was free, but so is Christ's love. If we had to earn it, no one would be able to pay the price. That is why God sent his son: to pay it for us.

So, despite my discouragement at the lack of "thanks" I received, I find peace. This peace comes from the knowledge that Christ will continue to give whether or not we show our gratitude. I know I don't say it enough, but thanks God for the gift that keeps giving: forgiveness.

And they lived happily ever after...

Yeah, life doesn't always end that way: Prince Charmings are few and far between; the damsel in distress packed her bags and moved to a condo to save on rent; if you kiss a frog, you just get slimy lips; but don't worry, there are plenty of villains out there!

As an English teacher, I obviously have a fondness for reading.  When I was about seven or eight, my father bought me a copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales.  We were in an airport, seeing my sister off and I insisted that he got me the overpriced airport memorabilia. He didn't mind. What parent doesn't want to indulge a child who loves to read?

As a child, my dad read to me regularly at night.  He would tuck me in. I would scoot over in the bed and make room for the giant of a man.  He'd turn on my carousel horse lamp and open the crisp pages of the newest adventure. I would sit in rapture as he read stories aloud to me. Then he'd kiss me good night, turn off the lamp, linger in the doorway and wait until I would doze off to dream of dragons and princesses. Those childhood bedtime stories are one of the main reasons I decided to become an English teacher.

Now, the pattern in all of these fairy tales was that they almost always ended happily ever after. As a child, you believe everything you hear. So, I enthusiastically embraced the idea of happy endings. As an adult, I have lost that blind and unbending childhood faith. Many times, I wish I still had it. Perhaps, that is what God meant when he said "unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

As adults, we face hardships and heartbreaks and we stop believing in happy endings. But why should we? There is a happy ending for all of us, and it is an eternity in Heaven with the Lord our Father.

So, tonight as you go to sleep, imagine that your Father is tucking you into bed and telling you that life always ends happily ever after. Because for those who believe, there is always a happy ending.

Why Are You Trying to Earn Grace?

Every morning on my way to work, I have what I like to call a "Jesus Jam Session." Basically, I crank up the Christian music and sing my tone-deaf heart out. So, if you see me driving down I-440 at about 7:15 in the morning waving my arms and screaming like a maniac, don't worry, I'm worshiping.

Now, I have my "Jesus Jam Session" for several reasons:
-Firstly, I am not a morning person and my daily cup of redneck coffee (a can of Dt. Mtn. Dew) simply isn't enough to wake me up.
-Secondly, as a high school teacher, a lot of days I have to give myself a motivational speech of types before heading into the trenches of raging hormones and unstable emotions.
-Lastly, this jam session each morning gives me a few minutes of peace to reflect on my joys and concerns before I begin my day.

The reason I am telling you this is because this morning during my jam session, I was listening to a song that spoke to me.  It is called, "By Your Side" by Tenth Avenue North. The whole song is amazing and definitely worth a Youtube search. However, there was one line that resonated with me and it simply says, "why are you trying to earn grace?"

This is one of those questions that we should all ask ourselves. Why are we trying to work for something that we could never possibly be able to earn? If we were admitted to Heaven or forgiven for our sins based on who did and did not deserve God's immeasurable grace, then we would all be out of luck.

So, guess what? I don't deserve the love of Christ and neither do you! Sounds harsh right? It's actually just the opposite.  We should all be blown away by the fact that God is willing to give us such a priceless gift and we have to do absolutely nothing for it! Now does that mean we have the green light to run around all Girls Gone Wild just because we know that at the end of the day God will still love and forgive us? Absolutely not! The only way we can really reap the rewards of God's forgiveness is if we repent; the only way we can repent is if we are sincerely sorry for the sin we have committed; if you are sincerely sorry then you ask for forgiveness with the intent of not committing that sin again...do you see where I'm going with this?


So today, ask yourself: why are you trying to earn grace? You can't and you will never be able to. That's the beauty of following Christ: He gives us things we don't deserve because He loves us. So, don't pout because you aren't good enough or cry out in frustration because you can never do enough.  All God asks is that we give Him all that we are, imperfect sinners, and He, in return, will give us all that He has, eternal life and unconditional love.  That sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me!

If Patience is a Virtue, I am not very Virtuous...

"Patience is a virtue." Ah, those sage words of wisdom that reveal the meaning of life. To say I am being facetious here would be an understatement.  I probably hate that phrase more than anything in the world.  It is a saying that parents tell whiny children when they want their dessert before their broccoli and not after. It is a saying that boyfriends tell their persistent girlfriends who have booked the church before they've even gotten a ring. It is a saying that I, as a teacher, tell my students daily when they badger me for graded tests a day after they have taken them.  It is a saying that I often mumble begrudgingly to myself when things aren't happening as quickly as I would like them to.

God gave me a lot of things, but patience is not one of them. And if the possession of patience classifies you as a virtuous person, consider me a heathen. I was that little kid who stood beside you and repeatedly poked your shoulder while you were having a conversation with someone else until your arm was so sore that you stopped mid-sentence to scream "WHAT IS IT, MAGGIE?!"

My impatience has really been an issue in my relationship with Christ. You see, God doesn't really respond well to temper tantrums (trust me, I've tried).  I can pout, stamp my feet and even give Him the silent treatment, and He ain't budging.  God gives answers in His own timing and not according to my personal agenda.  Sometimes God doesn't give answers at all.

The closer I grow to Christ, the more He seems to press the point of patience on my heart.  I heard once to never pray for patience, because the second you do, God will give you something to test your patience.  Well, God, bring it! Here I am, praying for patience. I am praying for patience with You, with friends and family and especially for patience with myself. I am praying for the patience to accept that just because things don't happen when I want them to, does not mean they aren't happening right on time.

I pray that I will stop looking at my watch and start looking up. It's all on Your time Lord, not mine.