A Fire in her Bones

There is a lady in our church who just lost her husband.

I don't know her very well.

I just know the consistency in which I have seen her live.

Her husband had been very ill for years.  She had been his caretaker.  At first his illness did not hinder them from coming to church.  But over time it became increasingly more difficult to get there.

Occasionally other family members and friends would step up and care for him so that she could enjoy the encouragement of her church family.

Let me be the first to say that those visits often resulted in the church body being encouraged by her occasional visit....and not the other way around.

This woman is real.

Real about life and her present circumstance but, more importantly, even more real about her God.

She has never once backed down from stating the burden that has been hers to bear.  But she has also never once backed down from an opportunity to give any listening ear a litany of reasons to boast in the Lord.  Faith exudes from her.

This past Sunday she came to church as a widow.

It was a first for her....and for all of us too.

Instead of hands holding tight to her husbands wheelchair they were instead full of empty dishes being returned to church family who had prepared food during the funeral.

A few of us had the chance to hug her neck and wish her well.

As always...we were the blessed ones.

Her eyes sprang to tears with ease but the smile was unmistakeable.

She told us that she missed him. 
She even told us that moments of despair linger.

But in the short time I got to be in her presence I heard her repeat the same phrase over and over.

"His grace is sufficient."

I bet she said it 4 or 5 times in the few minutes I was at her side.

There is was.

The fire shut up in her bones...that is the truth of God's Word....shining out for all to see...beyond her frailty.

I don't believe her repetition was for me (or my friend who was with me) although we benefited greatly from her words.  I believe they were for her.

Sometimes we must say it (over and over) to tell our minds to believe it.

Christianity is nothing if not intentional.

I love that this sweet saint, ahead of me in the race, is running an example worthy to follow.

Out of her pain flows the wellspring of life....truth from a life lived by faith....and sometimes we get a splash onto us.

I have thought of her several times with fondness and gratitude.

Today as I walked out of the grocery store I thought of her again.  I crossed the parking lot and began to sing out loud....

Your grace is enough.
Your grace is enough.
Your grace is enough for me.

Let us live our lives so that others may be splashed in the richness of his grace on us!