Little Graces

"God’s grace is like manna…There’s manna for the moment. And there will be manna for tomorrow’s moments, too”

"Living Whole Without a Better Half" -Wendy Widder
Manna for the moment. I also call them “little graces.” They are the events, conversations, and people that God places in our lives at the exact moment we need them. Not necessarily when we think we need them, but when God knows we need them. Grace with a capital G is what carried me away from the old self and into a new life in Christ, and graces with a little g are what carry me now.

I think there are actually two categories of “little graces.” The first category contains the graces that help you make it through the tough times in life. It’s when a friend calls when you really need to talk to somebody. It’s the Bible verse that comes alive for the first time because it’s exactly what you need to hear. It’s the strength God provides to go on when you can’t see how you can. It’s the endurance given to keep running the race of faith. It is the grace talked about in 2 Corinthians 12:9a: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” God’s grace is there when we need it. We couldn’t survive this life without it.

There is another category, I believe, of “little graces” which I like to call “bonus” graces. This is kind of my pet theory, so bear with me. Bonus graces are things that God does for you that you don’t necessarily need, but which makes you smile or makes your day better. Bonus graces are things God does for us because He loves us. The funny thing about bonus graces are that they are everywhere, yet you can totally miss them if you aren’t looking for them. Once I started looking I was amazed. Let me give you a few examples so you understand what I’m talking about. This week I had to leave early one morning and had to scrape the frost off of my car before I left. That didn’t exactly make me extremely thankful right then, but it did later when I realized that by scraping the frost off I had actually scraped off the dirt underneath as well, so I could actually see out of my windshield better than before. That might seem obscure to you, but that’s what I’m talking about. Look for bonus graces and be thankful for them. I’m not talking about the raise you got or the good health God’s given you-you should already be thanking Him for that. Look for the things that aren’t obvious, especially things that are an annoyance at first but later turn out to be a blessing. Give thanks to God when a light turns green so you don’t have to down-shift (that only applies if you drive a manual). Give thanks when He gives you a sunset. Give thanks when your sunglasses don’t break when you step on them. Give thanks when your sunglasses do break but you find a spare set in your glove compartment you didn’t realize you had. These are bonus graces. I can’t support my theory of bonus graces from Scripture, but I do know that God loves us and He controls all things. Some of you might disagree with my theory and that’s okay. If you do let me know and we can talk about it. One of the purposes of this blog is to be able to discuss ideas while giving glory to God for what He’s done. As usual, thanks for reading!