Grace

Last Friday night I believe I literally melted into my bed. This week has been tiring, for all of the usual reasons weeks become that way, and after a great night of talking and laughing and eating with friends I truly had no energy left to throw away the last straggler paper towel, much less find places for all of the toys or wash the dishes still lingering in the sink. I am fairly certain my body stayed curled in one position all night and that even dreams could barely take hold in the bottomless ocean of my slumber. When Jonathan's cries pierced through the still dark early morning I thanked my yet twinkling stars that Josh was willing to go get him.

A few moments later my bouncing two year old pitter patted into my room amid joyful chatter, so excited he was that Daddy was up to play. He gave me a kiss and then bounded down the hall to wait for his dad. Josh smiled at me, kissed me too, and then padded down the hall sleepy-eyed but and shoulders hunched inside his sweatshirt, his muscles still too tired to accept the fact of being outside of a warm bed. I fell back asleep instantly.

Hours later I finally let my body catch up to my brain and stretched my limbs, watching the sun come through the window and color the parts of the bed where my legs made bumps under the covers. I blinked my eyes and threw the sheets back, letting my skin feel the cool October breeze that washed into our room and invited me to get up. Padding softly down the hall I heard the faint sound of the ocean coming through my son's wall. I paused, confused, as I was at home and not at the beach, and then remembered that his new sound machine must still be on and playing the soft sound of waves.

It was with the gentle loll of waves still in my ear that I walked into a perfectly clean living room-- Josh had cleaned it all, early in the morning and while he let me sleep. I peeked into the kitchen, but it too was perfectly clean. I sighed and sat down happily, in the lap of grace.

Grace, I think, is not only to be found in the words I forgive you, but much more often in the beautiful moments. In those flecks of time where you don't deserve and certainly don't expect beauty, to find it is to rest in Grace. From my extra hours of sleep to the sweet kisses from my boys, to the sound of the ocean in the middle of Greensboro to the welcoming sight of no clutter and clean countertops, I was reminded of the Lord's grace, and grateful for its unbidden entrance.