“Why do you [God] bother with us? Why take a second look?” Psalm 8.4
Flying across the date line both gives and takes away time. Yesterday I left Singapore at 6 a.m. After flying for 16 hours, I landed in San Francisco at 7 a.m. the same day. In my travel I saw a sunrise, ate lunch and dinner, watched a sun set, and again saw the sun rise.
In “day” terms I arrived an hour after I left.
Result: two Sabbath blessings this week.
In many ways the time of reflection brought a special blessing. The time to reflect of God’s voice, special moments when I became aware of the constant chatter flowing from Him to me, and instances of grace-gifts from people to me. All wonderful, yet there continues to be a specific action on my part that brings everything into question.
On Friday, while eating a great Thai lunch, I told a story about a friend that only one person at the table knew and who, obviously, was not there. The story was not malicious however it was, at best, intolerant of his beliefs and values.
There was no reason to tell the story. There was no benefit to those present to hear the story. There was no grace shown during the story. There is no way to undo the damage done by the story.
The words and acts haunt me. I slipped into a critical mode without a thought or hesitation. After all the time spent with God, after the commitment made fresh that and most mornings, and even though I admire and respect the victim of my story, I still failed without missing a step.
Why does God bother with me? Why does God spend as much time as I will give Him trying to explain the meaning of grace?
I reflect this morning in the midst of the San Francisco fog. Yesterday I saw grace in my life. Today I will have new opportunities to show grace in other lives.
That’s the beauty of grace, always looking forward, always available.
