I love the phrase "deeply graced by God". If feels like a a warm blanket all wrapped up safe and snug. I heard it from a woman who describes her past as the "deepest pit of sin". It made me reflect on my own life. And compare mine to hers. I cannot say that I've ever been in what we might call a deep pit of sin, at least not by human standards.
The combination of my temperament and circumstances created a "good girl" in me. I was not rebellious or defiant. Quiet and compliant I kept the rules, did what I was supposed to do. I was good, "perfect" my mother would tell me. I never gave her or my young husband any trouble. And it wasn't a Pharisaical "goodness"; me being above everyone else, looking down my nose at the lowlifes who smoked and got bad grades, or those who were divorced or "controlling". Rather it was a "goodness" coat, used to cover the "nothing" I felt inside. Zipped up nice and tight. It wasn't fancy or flashy. No, it was strong and sturdy, not ugly, just practical. And it covered me from head to toe
But here's the thing. Sin is not defined by a behaviour or state of being. Sin is the chasm between me and comfort, between me and safety, between me and Love. . . . between me and God! And it doesn't matter whether that chasm is dug with the shovel of bad deeds or the backhoe of "goodness". They are equally as heinous and equally as deadly.
But today, I sit snuggled and warm in a fuzzy blanket. Comforted, safe, loved . . . I breath in the freshness of life renewed, released and freed.
I too am deeply graced by God.
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