Some random thoughts on grace....

I've been sick in bed today. The children all have had the dreaded stomach flu ~ gradually working its way through our family for the past five days or so. I, who very rarely get sick, am. A temperature too. Yuck. Do you feel sorry for me? : )

I am so rarely sick that I believe the children were concerned about me. I had a steady stream of little and not-so-little ones come up to my bedroom to check on me. So sweet.

Yesterday was a rotten stinkin' day for me. It seemed that I had too many arguments to settle, children, both little and not-so-little who weren't acting as they should, etc, etc. I kept telling myself, "This too will pass," and reminding myself that actually very few days are like that for me.

Then I realized that I was getting sick last night as I got ready for bed. Ah the need to extend grace~ both to myself (I can be so hard on myself) and to my children. I sometimes forget that there can be physical reasons behind family friction. If I had yesterday to live over, I would have been much more generous with the hugs and the smiles. This too will pass; it will pass.

Today, in between running to the bathroom and sleeping I chose to spend some time reading Steven and Terri Maxwell's book Managers of Their Schools. I can highly recommend this book. Many of the ways that they run their homeschool are also employed by us. I have gleaned some excellent additional ideas that Tom and I will prayerfully consider for the coming school year.

Unfortunately, it can be my tendency to compare myself to others though. Certainly Steve and Terri and honest about their failures and shortcomings and write in an encouraging way~ sharing simply what the Lord has led them to do, not claiming that their methods are the "only God-given methods" for homeschooling success. Still though, I found myself critically evaluating myself and our homeschooling process through the years. {sigh} Probably being sick has played into that as well, as I am characteristically an optomistic person.

Then I took a minute this evening to check out Ann V.'s blog Holy Experience. Her guest blogger yesterday was L.L. Barkat, author of Stone Crossings, (which looks excellent and has been added to my Amazon wish list).

She shares of an experience she had when she showed up for a speaking engagement only to find that she had a large wrinkle in her blouse....

"This is just like me to show up with a wrinkle when I’m trying to look nice. But I thought, “No, it’s exactly the thing, and I’m going to say something about it.” So I drew attention to the wrinkle and asked everybody to get a good look. Then I said I was glad it was there, because don’t we often look at one another’s “perfect” lives and think, “I wish my life was like hers.” But we all have our wrinkles. We speak to one another from broken places. I sometimes forget that and begin to feel that I can’t share wisdom or beauty when I know my life is wrinkled. Still, if I waited for the day of perfection to share, I’d never write another word, speak on another platform."
~L.L. Barkat


So here's my post with a few of my personal "wrinkles." I too, have doubts and failures and can feel totally inadequate to write anything here. But, because of God's grace in my life, I will share with you with the intention of pointing your eyes to Him "who is able to do far more abundantly beyond what we ask or think," (Eph 3:20).

So I share grace with you, my fiends.


Have a wonderful weekend!
Susan
*to read all of L.L. Barkat's post (and be enouraged), click here.