How He Loves Us: Moments of Grace

My blog has been getting awfully quiet lately, it seems. The busier I get, the more responsibilities I have, the more opportunities I have, the less I seem to find time to write. I cannot write when my heart is tired and heavy. I cannot write when my mind seems to be spinning in a million different directions. But, there are times when I am in the middle of things, thinking, hoping, creating, dreaming, and all of a sudden, the words of the song I am currently listening to as background music register. They slice through the haze of my to-do list and explode as a canopy over a weary heart. Sure, I could very well flip the switch and tell myself that I have more things to do. I could tell the Lord that I already spent time with Him this morning and just cannot listen now because my time is precious. But, the amazing thing is. . . I don't. I don't flip the switch. I don't shake my head in His direction. I don't deny the work He is attempting to do. I just listen.

In those moments, the most relaxing feeling washes over me. I cannot explain how quickly the reality of life just fades. I cannot explain how real He seems; how I can almost feel His breath in my hair as He hugs me. When God meets you in the middle of your day, in the most routine way possible, and messes up the plans within seconds, it is a grace moment. See, I had heard the song over and over and over again during the last year or so. Yes, it is one of my favorite songs. I know the lyrics by heart, and I love the musicality of it. I know the meaning of the words and live by them. However, if any of you have ever had those favorite songs, unless you are really listening and there is nothing else running through your mind at the moment, the power behind the words only vaguely shines through. It does not impact you the same way. It does not shock your heart into existence all the time or steal your breath away. It is just there; it is there for comfort and familiarity and a reminder.

Yet, I have found that there are times when God choses to make those familiar songs the highlight of our day. He knows when we feel stressed, when we feel responsible for everything in the world. He knows when we are ignoring the signs of needing a recharge. He even knows when we are simply too focused and too tired to be able to get to the point of actually relaxing our mind and letting Him through fully. I believe it is in those moments that God says "Look, my child, you need a rest. So, I'm going to give you one." And folks, those are such powerful moments; they are breath-taking, filling. I can physically relax my mind and try to put away the thoughts of today and tomorrow and yesterday, but honestly, I never get completely to that point at times. But, when God says He's going to give me a rest, He really gives me a rest. If I give into simply listening to what He has to say in those moments (and trust me, you know when one of those moments arrive), I find myself so focused on Him and so wrapped up in Him, no matter how well I know the song or how long I have repeated the memorized Bible verses. When His spirit is truly moving inside those words and carrying them far more than just the simple message of the words, there is power there; there is grace.

My grace moment this week came in the middle of school work. It had been a crazy week to say the least. I ended up being called into work on days that I was not scheduled three days in a row, I simply could not find time to do my college work, my online duties and friends were getting neglected, one of the biggest blizzards in history was about to send white out conditions and feet of snow my way, and I just could not get my head wrapped around all the tasks still to do. As was tradition, I finally sat down Thursday evening, able to breathe for the first time all week and just turned on music. I immediately started tackling the remnants of uncompleted homework, letting the music drown out any other thoughts besides that of the court cases I was currently studying. And I can honestly say I heard not a word to any song until this one song came on. It shattered my concentration like never before, tugged at my heart like I had never heard it before, and completely whipped every other thought from my mind. Believe me, there was a little voice there saying that I need to focus again, but I just couldn't. It brought relief, reminders, love, hope, renewal all in one. It is How He Loves Us by David Crowder Band.

And I replayed that song and replayed it and replayed it. Because, in that moment, I was literally overwhelmed by the love He has for me, the grace I am literally drowning in every day. I am His portion and He is my prize. I am drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes. My Lord is jealous for me; for me! He is beautiful. He is amazing. This is my Lord! The lyrics are so simple, but they are so true. They are the heart of our relationship with our Lord and Savior. And He chose, deliberately chose, to remind me that His love and His grace and His mercy are the very reason I am sitting here; the very reason I am alive; the very reason I am blessed with as much as I am.

I am passing on the message to each and every one of you today. We know, we all know, at the core that we are loved, that we are blessed, that we are held up by His grace. Yet, there are moments that the Lord choses to impress that one to our hearts more than ever before. Our relationships cannot always be based on feelings, but when we feel Him closer than ever before, it is a moment to treasure. It is a moment to hold on and cherish. Its value is far greater than any riches of this world. The fact that He choses to reach down to Earth to personally and deliberately shape our hearts and mold our lives can touch us in ways we not yet know. He is your Lord. He is your Father. He is your best Friend. Our hearts need grace moments; they need to be sensitive to grace moments. It is in those moments that He surprises us and blesses us in the most monumental ways. Don't miss them. Don't ignore them. Don't over think them. Let them happen; let them capture your heart to the very core; let them define your life.