My sister and I name each year – a name one or both of us “hears” before January rolls around. The word for this year, 2011, is Grace. It is the Year of Grace. This is affirmed to us over and over again. For the past 8 days it has come in the way of an unexpected visit from Uncle Bill.
With his wife at Stallworth for medical rehab, our Uncle Bill has found our home his “home away from home”. My nights and early mornings have been laced with stories on the patio. Stories of wisdom, stories of God’s faithfulness, stories of love. I’ve written down every word I had time to capture – every nugget of wisdom that emerged from his sharing.
He just walked out the door a few minutes ago. I watched him drive down the driveway and I felt the hole that comes in his leaving; but of course, it is time. He will pick Aunt Margie up and take her home to Kentucky. He leaves me with a week of blessing and a host of wisdom. This time with him is the most profound gift of God’s grace.
This morning as we were on the patio he took my hand and said, “I just want to say a prayer of praise this morning”. For Uncle Bill the blessings he is thankful for are unlimited, but especially today he offered praise to God for his wife of 57 years, for his family and for God’s love that never seems to stop overflowing our lives. How could it be that I would be so blessed to share in his praise??
Sometimes treasure is hidden in the circumstances of life. We may have to search for it; we may need to discover it…and occaisionally, we will have to let go of something else to receive it. What is God offering you in your circumstance?
Life in the Deep End 