Good Grace

Good Grace

Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Hebrews 4:16

One of the best-loved writers of Amish fiction is Beverly Lewis. Her father was a pastor in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where she was born and grew up, and it’s there she became interested in her family’s Plain heritage. On a recent trip back to Pennsylvania, Beverly had a chance to revisit the place where her writing began.

I also was given permission by the present owner of my childhood home to walk along the perimeter of the grove of tall Norway spruce my father planted when I was a mere fifth grader and just beginning to write my stories (and too shy to show anyone but my mother). A flood of emotions poured over me as I walked that ground, and I lingered longingly near the places where, all those years ago, I sat to write in my secret writing notebook.

And I wondered: Had I fulfilled the things I’d set out to do for God so energetically, so joyously? Even as a child, I was incredibly driven, motivated by an internal to-do list. Oh, the sometimes nearly never-ending lists of deeds I planned to accomplish! Goals centered in the heart of my newfound faith in Christ.

If I could talk to that young schoolgirl now—my preteen self—and tell her what I’ve learned about faith in God, I believe it would go something like this: Salvation is absolutely a gift from God. No amount of works or deeds can alter that fact.

God places gifts and talents, dreams and goals in our lives for our sake and for the sake of others, but He never wants us to be so focused on what we hope to accomplish that we forget Him and what He has already accomplished. God may call us to write books that make the New York Times Best Sellers list, or He may call us to offer a piece of pie and a smile to our neighbor across the next field, but everything we accomplish—big or small—is because of Him, through Him, and should be for Him.

Dear heavenly Father, I’d be nowhere without grace. Thank You for the gift of salvation.