grace.

I always hear the word "grace." 

"If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking."

"By the grace of God." 

But I don't often sit down to truly think about it. 

Think about the meaning and significance of it. 

 Grace.. it's a beautiful thing. 

And then today, it kinda dawned on me, "Kathryn, your middle name IS grace."

So, it made me want to ponder it. dig deeper into what it means. what it is. 

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and that is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." 

I'd say that verse sums it up pretty well! 

I am a sinner, there's no doubt about that. Sadly, each day I can pick out something I did that did not glorify the Lord. But then there's grace. 

Grace: the free, unmerited favor of God. 

We are here today because of His grace.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

How beautiful is that?!

The big things, the little things, there's grace.

That's not to say we should always use that as a backup, a security plan. 

It's just the beauty of who God is. And boy am I thankful. 

Today as we were reading through Job, a few verses stood out to me. 

Job 19:25-27 - I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes - I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me. 

Because of His grace, I have the privilege of one day seeing Him face-to-face. 

My heart yeeeearns for that day. 

Yearns for it. 

The days get harder and then guess what? The Lord shows up. Everyday. Through it all. He shows up. And I am so very thankful! I never deserve how good He is, but that's just who He is. An extremely graceful God. Whose mercy abounds. 

Today, I am extremely thankful my middle name is Grace. 

As a constant reminder of who God is and that He is so, so gracious. 

"When the darkness crept in and overshadowed the sun, we were buried in the sickness and sin had begun. We are thirsty, we are tired. But God said 'come' and despite our condition, light now shines where the dark had convinced us that no man tastes and no man sees. Instead of repaying us what we deserve, or according to our sin, and the wrath that we've earned, He lifted it and put it on His Son. So down came love, the right hand of God, the man called Christ. And He swallowed it up that all men taste and see. The Lord is gracious, slow to anger, rich in love, He is good, so good to us." 

So Good To Us by Ascend the Hill