Extra Grace Required

If you know me at all, you know that I absolutely adore my momma. She is my favorite person in the world because she has stuck by me through good times and bad. Some of you guys may not believe it, but I wasn't the easiest child in the world. In fact, I was what you would call a "difficult child", or "a handful". The thing that impresses me to this day is that despite all that, my mother still had a tremendous amount of love and grace for me. 

She and I were talking about a week ago, and she told me something that really has stuck with me. She told me that God's timing isn't always convenient, and sometimes the most important things God has for you to do are the ones that you want to do the least.

That struck a chord. We live in a world where we are so self centered and focused on what we want that we put ourselves on a pedestal. Is something inconvenient? We don't do it. Hear that whisper in your heart to help someone but you'd rather do something else? We ignore the whisper. We put way too much emphasis on us and not enough emphasis on others. 

You might not wanna hear it, but at some point, you were one of the difficult people, just like me. And my bet is that someone gave you a little extra grace, and went out of their way to help you. It may have been bad timing or they had something they'd rather do, but they went and showed Christ's love to  you. Now it's your turn.

Galatians 6:9 instructs us to do what is right and bear one another's burdens without growing weary. I'm imploring you, look around. See who you can help. If you hear that whisper in your heart, or feel a nudge at your spirit, don't ignore it. Do what you are called to do. You never know what kind of impact you are making. Never miss an opportunity to further the Kingdom of God, or be His hands and feet here on Earth. Extend grace as He does. Show unconditional love like He does. Reach out to the hurting. I'm not saying it will be easy, but I am saying that it will be worth it.