A God-Struck Thought

I love when God, just out of the blue, smacks me upside the head :) It's been almost 4 years since I got the diagnosis of dystonia and 9 years altogether that I've been dealing with its symptoms. Today, I got smacked upside the head with the realization that GOD'S GRACE IS SUFFICIENT. OK, so, I've known this fact basically my whole life - but sometimes I need a good smacking to remember it! It was an ordinary Tuesday by all accounts, but at work, I was smacked with the thought that God has seen (and continues to see) me through. There was once a time where I distinctly remember thinking to myself "if I can walk, I'll be OK." Today I'm thinking "How incredibly arrogant of me!" There was once a time where I tried to hide the fact that I was having problems walking because I thought it was something I was somehow bringing on myself (and therefore something I had to fix myself). There was once a time I didn't want people seeing me walk with a cane. There was once a time when I was MORTIFIED to have to use a walker and I thought my life was over. But guess what? I'm OK!! My life isn't over because I have to use a walker. Yes, there are times when I shy away from things because I'm scared to death what people will think of me. I'm not brave all the time. But in all circumstances and in every situation GOD is there and His grace is abounding in ways that make me want to cry (in a good way!). God's grace cannot be matched. You know the Bible verse that says "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." (Job 1:21)? Well, I assume most people use it in reference to losing a loved one (that's how I've usually referenced it!). But the same can be said of my ability (or lack thereof!) to walk. It can be in reference to anything that the Lord has given and allowed to be taken away. GOD'S GRACE IS SUFFICIENT. In all my needs, in all my worries, my Jesus is right there beside me. How dare I forget that He's with me every second of every day! He's the one that carries me through. Thank you, Lord for taking an ordinary Tuesday and smacking me upside the head. I needed that smacking to jar me awake to the fact that You have never left me. You're the one that makes me able to walk into a room of strangers, walker in front of me and not cower in the corner. You're the one who sees me through every second of every minute of every hour of every day and I will PRAISE Your name in all things. It's by GRACE we are saved and not by our works (paraphrased from Ephesians 2:8-9). It's by GRACE we should live and show others the One by whom all things are given. Please, Lord, don't let me ever forget to praise Your Name and bow before Your throne. Thank you for the reminder, Lord that it's YOU who sees me through and it's by Your GRACE that I can say I have JOY in the journey of life.