Skip to main content

Graceless

"You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."
I Peter 3:4 

What an eventful month it has been! I challenged myself to run 100km in June and I can't believe it ... I actually succeeded! Don't ask what possessed me to take on that challenge in one of the hottest months of the year. I'm really not sure!

In other exciting news, I finally ran a mile faster than my goal of 8:30! I finished a mile this past Saturday in 8:23. Not only that, but I kept running! I finished 1.5 miles in 13:43 and 2 miles in 19:03. It was a very happy day for me!

And lastly, I finally got a hybrid bicycle! I can't wait to start cross training ... and trying something new while talking to God!

While doing my Bible reading today, I came across I Peter 3:4, "You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

This verse hit a nerve with me.

Why?

Because this verse describes someone I'm not.

Over the past couple of days, I've read What's So Amazing About Grace? by Phillip Yancey and In My Father's House by Corrie ten Boom. Both books made me desperately yearn to be more grace-filled and Christ-minded.

I truly want to have a gentle and quiet spirit. 

I desire to show others grace, even when it's not easy.

Especially when it's not easy!

In Yancey's book, he states, "When it comes to grace, the word deserve doesn't even apply."

No one deserves grace. That's what makes it so amazing!

It genuinely hurts my heart to see the church in such a state of un-grace.

But even more so, it hurts that I'm in such a state.

My prayer is that I become more aware of my gracelessness and that when I see it, I admit it, and I beg God to help me overcome it. 

I want to be a person who is comfortable with conversational prayer. I want to lean on Christ day in and day out, talking to him continually about all things, big and small.

Lord, heal me. Help me to become gentle, to give grace, to speak to You, and to pour out Your Love.

"My help comes from the LORD, who made Heaven and Earth!"
Psalm 121:2

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Even When I Run Away ...

"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18 It's been over a year since I wrote in this blog. The past year has brought many life changes for our family. My husband returned from deployment and we packed up and moved across the country. I've had to adjust to a new home, a new school for my son, a new church, and new friends ... New everything. I haven't written in this particular blog because it's always been my place to share about my running journey and how my relationship with God has matured through that quiet time with Him. But over the last year or so, I haven't really been running.  And I've felt further from God than I've felt in a really long time.  At the beginning of 2017, I slowly began running again. A friend and I signed up for a half marathon and despite the sometimes awful weather here, I haven't missed a training run yet. I began to feel like I was fin...
12 comments
Read more

Run Like a Princess!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up." Hebrews 12:1-3   It has been several months since I last posted, but that's mostly been because of lack of training! After my first half marathon in Pensacola in November, our family stayed busy with traveling, holidays, the flu, and abnormally cold weather for Florida. With the Disney Princess Half Marathon quickly approaching, I was filled with more dread than excitement. I knew I had...
1 comment
Read more

Letter from a Recovering Racist

It all started with books. As soon as I learned to read, my world began to change. When I was born, my world was small. I grew up in the Deep South. Fields for miles. Mosquitoes big enough to drain you dry. I lived in the middle of nowhere. Everyone around me looked just like me . Until I started kindergarten. As I grew older, I learned beside people who didn't look like me. But as time went on, the lines were drawn in the sand. We were "us" and they were "them." The lines were drawn with words, attitudes, and beliefs. Were there big explosions of speech and blatant actions? Yes. But most were whispers. It's easy to deny a whisper. A look. A thought. An idea. But many whispers together make a lot of noise. And the sound was deafening. The older I grew, the more books I read. Although I interacted daily with people not like me, I never listened to their voices. Not in person. But I read. I read and I read and I read. I read boo...
1 comment
Read more