This year’s Thanksgiving celebration has come and gone. And once again, our family had much to be thankful for. Extending His grace, God’s faithfulness was beyond what we could imagination. As He healed, and granted favor to our daughter-in-law and grand baby Anaya.
How Are You Celebrating The Holidays?
In a couple of days, our family will be celebrating Christmas. The week after, New Years, as many other people do around the world. However, this holiday season I would like to encourage you to enjoy all those around you; even those you might find hard to tolerate.
I think about all the years waisted judging those in my family who were different than me. Whether it was because of a different life style or belief. I allowed it to rob the joy, and relationships that could of been.
Yet as I got older and hopefully wiser, God has been showing me what it truly means to love unconditionally. He has taught me this through scriptures like:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?” – Matthew 7:1-4 NIV
With age comes the realization that my time is short on this earth. And what time I have left seems to be going by quicker and quicker. The Bible compares life to a mist, “For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” -James 4:14
Extending Grace To Others
I like the quote below from the podcast/blog “Giving Grace” by Laura
“Grace does not mean excusing or ignoring fault or failure or bad behavior. Grace requires us to look at the recipient with compassion (which is defined as sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others).
When we are asked to extend grace to someone else, we are giving them favor or approval they haven’t earned. In order to do that, we’re going to have to look at that person with compassion, sympathy, and concern for their sufferings and misfortunes.
We are not promised tomorrow. So, I encourage those of you who are still young, not to waist time focussing on what’s wrong with the people in your life but search for what is good. If you are older, hopefully your wiser. Enjoy the people you have now, and look forward to seeing those you’ve lost.
God Bless you.
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