Just Enough Grace

I got an email the today from a friend needing a title for her upcoming devotional book. It got me thinking. What do I think of, what comes to mind when I think of Heather? The thoughts and memories are numerous but what came to mind today is "Grace." Four children grace to be exact.

Let me explain.

As moms of many (we have eight kids between us) we get lots of comments, especially when we travel together...from the outburst emitted by a dear little old lady, "STOP THE BREEDING" to the sweet comment from the couple sitting next to us at lunch, "Your children are such a blessing, they are so well behaved!"

Far and away, however, the most common comment we get is "I don't know how you do it. I could never ___________." That blank gets filled in with many things. I could never homeschool. I could never teach. I could never get them all to piano and soccer and AWANA. I could never deal with four children.

I once heard Heather respond to that comment in a way that has never quite left me. She said it simply. God doesn't give us "fourth baby" grace until we have that fourth baby. Or fifth. Or sixth. God gives us the grace we need to deal with whatever our situation is at the moment.

God gives us just enough grace to deal with whatever it is we face right now, but yesterday we could never imagine being able to handle. He gives us just enough grace to deal with an alcoholic father, just enough grace to raise a special needs child, just enough grace to look cancer in the face, just enough grace to survive an unexpected job loss. Just enough.

God gives us just enough grace to remind us He is with us, always. He gives us just enough grace to let us never forget He is sovereign. He is good, all the time. He gives us just enough.

And that's enough.


Thanks, Heather, for being like a sister to me and for always being a light that points me in the right direction.