Faith – Grace for Every Season

Hey everybody! It’s been quite some time since I have written a blog post. There’s just been so much going on in life that honestly I just let my blog fall off to the side. BUT…

God has really been working in me and letting me know it’s time to get back on here and blog. So here I am! After all, He is the one that planted the seed for blogging in my mind two years ago, and then I failed him by not sticking with it as I should’ve. So this time I’m gonna do my best to put myself out there and be open about life! My faith, my family, my friends, living with a chronic illness, being a special needs mom, and plenty more. All of these things I believe God can use to reach someone so I will go ahead and take the first step and let Him do the rest!

Why did I name this blog what I did?

Grace has many different definitions. When you google the defintion of grace, it automatically brings up 7 different things that the word grace can mean. Maybe the first thing that comes to mind is elegance (walking with graceful movement), or being courteous (showing the social graces). Or maybe you are a Downton Abby fan and you think of it as a title to describe a Duke or a Duchess. 😀 Maybe you’ve even used a “grace period” on a loan before, skipping until the next month to make your payment without penalty. But the meaning for grace in my blog title has nothing to do with any of these. Instead, I’m using the Biblical Definition of Grace: The free and unmerited Favor of God. So how does that play into my blog name? Well, when I think of Grace, I have to remember that Grace is undeserved favor. Grace can’t be earned or bought, and is definitely not deserved. God chooses to give me grace daily, and I must remember to choose to give Grace to others freely and of my own choosing, just like Christ does for all of us. Christ loved me (and you dear reader) so much that he died on the cross for us, forgiving us of any and all sins that we do in this life. But although that grace is free, we must choose to accept it, along with his free plan of salvation for us all. I can always count on the grace that he has given to me, but do I give others the same? Do I choose to give grace to my husband when he forgets to do something that I have asked him to do? Do I choose to give grace to my daughter when she decides that she doesn’t want to help fold the towels today, and chooses to do something else instead? Do I act with grace when someone cuts me off in traffic or do I have other things to say about it? Grace is given to me daily, no matter how many mistakes I make, no matter how frustrated I get with my family, and no matter how hurt I may be from something out of my control, because I have accepted Christ, and he is Lord and Savior over my life. Being a Christian, God chooses to give me grace daily, and that grace will help me get through my day, no matter what is going on. So when I chose to name my blog Grace for Every Season, I literally thought about how much Grace God really does give me- day in and day out- no matter what the season is, and I should strive to give that same grace to others- my family, my friends, and everyone else I come into contact with each day. Instead of getting frustrated, or giving someone a piece of my mind, I need to remind myself to just give them some grace- because I don’t know what the other person has been through that day, and maybe the grace that I give to them, is exactly what they need that day.

So if you’ve never thought about Grace this way, and you’re curious about how that looks, reach out to me and I’ll be glad to answer the question you have. It’s not something that comes easily for me to do, but if God can forgive my mistakes, and show me the grace I don’t deserve, then I should most certainly be able to do the same for others.

Now that you know a bit more about why I named my blog the way I did, hopefully you’ll continue to follow my blog and share in a bit of my unique life. If you’re new to this blog, I encourage you to go back to my very first blog where I talk a bit more about myself, and my family and my decisions for creating this blog. Until next time, Grace be with you! Elizabeth

“Grace, mercy and peace which come from from God the Father and from Jesus Christ- the Son of the Father- will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.” 2 John 1:3

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

*Autumn seat, Musgrave Park, Belfast (October 2014) by Albert Bridge is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0*

My name is Elizabeth, and I’m new to blogging, so first let me introduce myself. I am a Christian, a wife, a mom to two adult children (one with special needs and one college student who is learning his way in this world), and by profession- a Registered Nurse. For nearly nineteen years, I worked as an elementary school nurse and I felt it was truly my calling, and the mission field that God had given me to show his love to others through my gifts in my profession. But when I developed a debilitating, and disabling rare condition known as CRPS in late 2020, my world came tumbling down around me. No longer could I do all the things I could once do. No longer did I have all my physical abilities. Those losses not only affected my daily life, but eventually led to the subsequent loss of the job I loved so much. I was dealing with all the stuff- the losses, the chronic, constant 24/7 pain along with all the other symptoms of CRPS, and yes, all the anxiety, sadness, and other emotions and feelings that come with such a diagnosis and loss. I found myself just surviving, but not really living, and I knew I would really need to lean on God to help get me through all that had and would come my way. I came to realize that living with a chronic illness was going to be one of the biggest challenges that I’ve faced so far, and I knew I couldn’t do that alone. I’ve first and foremost had to learn to trust God and his plan for me through this. I’ve had to learn when to say no to previous plans, when to give my body and rest, and that it’s ok to rely on friends and family and ask for help when I need it. I made the decision that although I will live with CRPS the rest of my life, that I don’t want it to rule me, so each day I make the choice to step forward and do my best to live my life in this hard, new place I find myself in.

When God started nudging me to start writing a blog, at first I felt like maybe I had misunderstood. I mean, who would read anything written by me? It’s not like I am famous. I’m not a writer- I mean other than some newspaper articles and those required college essays, I’ve never written anything in my life. I’m not an online influencer. I don’t wear all the brand name clothing, and most of the time, you won’t even find me wearing makeup. I’ve often been told that I’m real, and with me “what you see is what you get” so to speak, so I was wondering how could God even begin to use me through this blog? And, although I am known by many in my community, I didn’t feel like I had anything to offer, and truly just thought I was misunderstanding that nudge from the Lord. So, I ignored that nudge for several months, but God just kept sending all the thoughts back to me, and so I started sharing the idea with a few of my close friends, asking them their opinion, and to pray about it with me, so that I could make sure I was hearing Him correctly. I won’t ever forget the first thing that my friend Robin told me. She said “Elizabeth, you may not feel like it, but you are an amazing woman to so many of us, and you have a lot to say that people may need to hear” And that was followed by two other friends who said “if God told you to do it, then you need to listen and do it”. You can’t really get any more direct than that, right? So I did. I began to pray about it, and they prayed about it, and finally after many more months, here I am, embarking on yet another season in my life, both scared and excited for the journey ahead. For months, I have been waiting until it felt like the right time to start the blog, and this past month, that confirmation in timing was given to me. I told God that I will do my best to write the words he wants me to write, and I’ll just trust him to send the readers my way. Even today, while listening to a podcast, I was reminded that God can use me and has chosen me, when I heard Romans 8:11 again, which states (paraphrased)

The spirit of God which raised Christ from the dead, lives in me and gives me life.

I’d love to have you join me on my blogging (and life) journey! I’ll post the things God places on my heart, in the hopes that you will benefit from them, and I hope that my blog gives you a smile, a cry, or even a comfort in the part of life you need it most. I’ll write about all kinds of topics, from things I’ve learned as a woman, a special needs mom, to things I’ve learned from nearly 30 years of marriage. I’ll definitely write about things that God has shown me through my chronic illness, and what I’ve learned through my husbands chronic illness, and so much more! Daily life, just like all seasons, can be so much more fun when you know that someone is right there with you, So I invite you to join me, and walk (or read) through each blog with me, as I hope to share with you all, God’s words of hope, love, and encouragement, dispersed with some fun and humor from my crazy life!

Can’t wait to be here with you again soon, where we will start talking about why I named my blog Grace for every season, and what Grace means for us all!

In His Love,

Elizabeth

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16 NIV

Tag: Faith

Embracing God’s Grace for Every Season: A Journey of Faith and Love

Come have a seat and join me on my journey!