The Grace Place

There are certain Scriptures that became very real to me when we learned (in August of

2017) that my husband had stage 4 Melanoma cancer.

The first is Matthew 6:34: “Therefore (because God is faithful) do not worry about tomorrow, for

tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

I have been learning that the way to experience God’s grace and supernatural peace is to train

my mind to live in the moment at hand. I haven’t been given the grace for tomorrow. God

gives grace one day at a time. When I stay in the moment, I truly do experience God’s

supernatural peace and even joy. I’m able to praise Him for all the little “love touches” I see.

Surrender was easier in this situation because I KNEW I had no control over the outcome.

When I thanked God for this peace and told Him I wanted His help staying in this place, His answer

was to reveal other areas of my life where I was still trying to be in control, such as our son’s

situations and some of my relationships. As God helps me to surrender my expectations to

Him and trust Him to work things out according to His plan (which is far superior to mine), I

find that His peace replaces my striving and stress. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says: “Come to

me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and

learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my

yoke is easy and my burden is light.” When I allow Him to carry my burdens, it’s amazing how

the stress melts away.

The other Scripture that has become very real to me is James 4:15: Instead (of boasting about

your plans) say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” Since we couldn’t predict

how Tom would feel after each treatment, we learned to make what I call “pencil” plans (easily

erasable). The fact that God’s ultimately in control of our plans became very real to us. I was

learning to be surrendered and flexible. (That doesn’t come naturally to me.)

During this time, I found it was also very difficult to make commitments. For example, I was hesitant to volunteer

my time unless I knew there was a back up person who could take my place if I couldn’t make it. I had

to learn to hear God’s voice more clearly when seeking His will, and to trust that He had

a back up plan if I felt led to commit. I had to remember that:

a) If I hear Him wrong and make a mistake, He’s able to work it out.

b) Sometimes He’s simply testing my faith. (For example, He might lead me to accept a

commitment, knowing I won’t be able to keep it, just so He can demonstrate His faithfulness in

providing the solution.)

This was scary for me because I take my commitments very seriously. This is an area where God was

stretching my faith. I always wondered how public speakers could commit to something a year

in advance. Clearly, they are further along in their faith walk than I am.

So, while I would never choose hardship, I am thankful for how God uses it in my life and I will

prayerfully try to live out what God’s teaching me.

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