"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in KINDNESS toward us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:4-7 (emphasis mine)
It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving. The Monday after our week long trip to Hawaii. The first official Monday of the Christmas season. I have about a million things I need to be doing. So why am I sitting here typing away on my computer you may ask? Because over the past week God has shown me something that I think you, my friends just might need to see too, especially as we navigate our way through this holiday season.
Our family’s trip to Hawaii was a gift from Jonathan’s parents and it could not have come at a better time. Exhausted is an understatement for how I had been feeling in every aspect of my life. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, all just pure exhaustion. Nothing was “wrong” per se. I haven’t experienced any major trauma recently and from the outside things actually would have appeared to be in tip top shape. It was just one of those times that I needed a break from...well...life.
I had been praying that The Lord would speak to me in big ways during our trip. With minimal distractions I wanted to just be still and to listen to His voice. The week before we left I was in Lifeway and picked up the book “Remember God” by Annie F. Downs. It was on my list of books that I had been wanting to read and at $5 I couldn’t pass it up. So into my backpack for Hawaii it went. Little did I know that that book with the pretty black and gold cover would be the means by which God was going to speak to my heart in ways that I couldn’t have imagined.
I won’t give any spoilers (seriously go buy the book and read it), but essentially “Remember God” is about Annie’s quest to discover if God is really kind all of the time. When she presented this question at the beginning of the book my initial thought was “of course he is, it is one of His attributes and since we know that He is also never changing, he has to be always kind.” As I continued reading the book, though I realized how much I believe that with my head, but not always with my heart. How often do I really take the time to acknowledge God’s kindness in my life?
So my own personal quest started in the days to follow. You’re probably thinking “come on Kacie, you were in Hawaii, of course you’re going to see God’s kindness everywhere.” But the truth is, even in Hawaii our selfish and entitled nature can rear it’s ugly head. This is especially true when traveling with three children. Can I get an Amen? But when you’re constantly looking for and seeing God’s kindness, it’s hard to live with an ungrateful and self centered heart.
At 10pm on Thanksgiving day we boarded our six hour flight back to the mainland. I knew that I was going to be sitting by someone I didn’t know. Cue major anxiety. Just a few minutes later in walked a sweet 10 year old girl that sat right beside me. I immediately recognized this as God’s kindness. I couldn’t sleep and there was no in flight entertainment or wifi so I decided to listen to one of the podcasts that was already downloaded to my phone. It was Jamie Ivey’s most recent interview with Tara-Leigh Cobble. What did they talk about? You guessed it. God’s kindness.
This is where God seemed to tie everything together in a pretty bow for me. They discussed what God’s kindness actually is. They talked about how His faithfulness is when He fulfills a promise, but His kindness is when He gives generously without it being promised. God didn’t promise that I would be sitting by a tiny little girl instead of an awkward grown man, but in His kindness He gave me that gift. God didn’t promise that the girls would all stay healthy on our trip, but through His kindness they didn’t get sick. God didn’t even promise that He would speak to my heart in such a big way while in Hawaii, but in His kindness, He did!
One evening last week when I was feeling a little down about leaving and getting back to the “real world”, He painted the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen right across the road in front of us. His kindness. Just last night my heart was hurting and I was struggling with feelings of unworthiness and inadequacy. Literally in the middle of my tears I received an email that I had been waiting for all week. An email saying I have been accepted to write for a blog that is particularly close to my heart. God’s timing and His kindness. This morning I might have needed a dose of humility. Don’t we all sometimes? My sweet 16 year old friend sent me a text that was full of biblical truth in which she was telling herself not to be a diva, but in turn she reminded me not to be one either. God’s kindness.
So what is my point in this long post? Friends, I urge to you look for God’s kindness. You will see it because it is there! He is always kind. He can’t not be because it’s who He is. So, look for it every day and when you see it share it with someone and give Him all of the praise and all of the glory!
*Photo credit: Susan Hunt
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