Unmerited Grace

I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted something on here. I was hoping to write something once a month, and maybe I will eventually get there, but as a very wise woman told me, you can't write about what hasn't happened in your life yet, and while plenty has happened in my life since September 1st, the Lord has really been growing me lately and I want to share that with y'all now.

I have been extremely blessed to find a church in Winston-Salem that I love called Salem Chapel. It is a little more modern that my church in Atlanta, but the community of families is bigger than that of college students, and I love that. The pastor is incredibly wise and has an incredible knowledge of the Bible. He had a sermon about unmerited grace and it hit home so hard for me. Do you ever feel so overwhelmed with God's grace and the love He shows for His people? Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair, and the reality is that it isn't. We are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God and for that, we deserve death, not even a chance at eternity with Christ (Romans 3:23-24). But because God is merciful and because of unmerited grace, He sent His only Son to die for us, to take on all our sins, and take our place so we could have the chance to live with God in Heaven (Romans 3:25-26). Especially around this time of year, we get the chance to be reminded in so many different ways how incredible that gift truly is. I have over the past few months been reminded in several different ways how amazing God's unmerited grace is for us, something we don't at all deserve, and I would love to share that with y'all now.

The first example I can share with y'all is the incredible opportunity I had this past semester to observe in a 2nd grade class for my Education 201 class. To clarify- I am not planning on majoring in education, but I would like to be a teacher at some point in my life. The dream is to teach English in France right after I graduate from Wake, but I am also so open to wherever the Lord leads me and I recognize that it is just a dream right now, (Proverbs 16:9). I took an education class this past semester to see if it would be something I would interested in doing, and guess what... I LOVED it!! At first, I was very irritated that the school I was assigned to was 20 minutes away, but it grew to be such a joy and I knew the Lord put me right where I was for a reason. There was nothing I was more excited for, (besides my once a week babysitting job), than going to this elementary school and working with these kids. It was such a blessing and every week, the kids were more and more receptive to me. I got the chance to realize through all of their stories about their lives that growing up, I was in no means roughing it. Sure there were struggles here and there, but one little boy in my class has a dad in prison. Another little girl was in her home when her parents were forcibly removed by local authorities because they were such bad parents. I noticed something different because she was wearing a hair bow that day and every other day her hair looked pretty unkempt. She told me it was because she was living with her grandparents now and went on to tell me the story. Just a lot going on behind the scenes that you would never expect with such young children, and it just doesn't seem fair, but I have been extremely blessed by them and my relationship with them, and it is because of them that I really do think I would love to teach.

Most of my 2nd grade class

Another example is the time I get to spend with the family I babysit for once a week. I call the boys "my little nuggs" because they are such nuggets, they are so stinkin' cute. My Tuesday afternoons, and sometimes other days as well, consist of carpool duty, helping with 1st and 5th grade homework, and playing all sorts of games. I have done everything from keeping score of neighborhood soccer and basketball games, to playing with slime, sending slinkys down the stairs, and dressing up in old halloween costumes and "battling" to see which character will win. Why God allows me the opportunity to spend time with these kids, I don't even know, but I love it and feel so incredibly blessed!

My nuggs

Yet another example of His amazing grace is the incredible group of friends I have been blessed with. If I have learned anything about friends this semester, it is that some are life long friends, some are friends because your circles continue to overlap but after that stops, you might not be as close, and some people just don't like you. All of them are okay. Sure, it stings a little when people don't like you, but we were never promised an easy life in this world (John 15:18-20). And even better is that God promises to be close in times of hardship (Psalm 34:18). I have always found that Young Life is an instant close connection between people, and I have been blessed countless times over with that connection. Whether I'm at Wake or in Athens visiting friends, Young Lifers are allll over the place and I love it. I have been blessed by seeing the strength and courage of some of my friends, specifically one of my closest friends who's mom is battling cancer. She remains faithful to Christ, loves other extremely well, and is one of the most selfless people I know, yet her mom is extremely sick. I don't know how she does it and I tell her all the time, but I look up to her so much. I don't understand why she of all people has to deal with the sickness of her mother, but I know that the Lord is holding her family in the palm of His hand, and that's a beautiful thing.

Needless to say, this semester has been tough but in so many ways, but great in so many others. I am learning that everyone has a story and the closer you get to them, the more they will trust you with the details of their life. I've had to learn that you can't trust everyone with it, but that's okay too. Life isn't fair, but God's love reigns over everything. He is sovereign and in total control and we simply have to trust in Him (Jeremiah 29:11-14).