Stand in Grace

Nearly a month ago now, as new information about the coronavirus pandemic and new social distancing measures were coming out every day I was reeling.

Meanwhile, rain was pouring down in Cincinnati almost every day, too. The creek in my front yard which sometimes slows to a trickle was roaring and rushing.

And I kept having this feeling that I wanted to stand in the middle of it. Then I decided that I actually wanted to lay down in it and let the water cascade all around me.

Let me back up.

That week my friend Meg and I started an online lectio divina group, and we began with reading Romans 5:1-11. When practicing lectio divina, rather than analyzing and studying scripture, you repeatedly read and listen for words and phrases that the Spirit brings to your attention, trusting that the word is alive and active and speaks through a community of those gathered to listen.

What stood out to me first was that while we were still powerless, God poured himself out for us.

Of course we are always powerless, but in this moment we feel especially powerless. But while we were still powerless, God poured himself out for us.

Because of that we can now stand in grace and boast in hope.

And there was the invitation for me in that moment: stand in grace. Even though I feel powerless and overwhelmed, even though I can’t control this situation, even though I don’t know what will happen next I can be confident because of who God is how he shows himself in the world for us.

Through the conversation I had a sense of God’s grace, his life and goodness, as a flow and presence throughout all of creation that we can participate in. I sense it as I contemplate the clouds that roll by on the breeze, I sense it as I get swept up in good conversation, ideas, and work with friends, and I feel it in the water that rushes by in the creek.

I am upheld by the gift of God in every moment.

And so I felt the Spirit stirring me to go out in the creek, to stand in God’s grace, his life, and peace, and to let it swirl around me. I resisted for awhile; it felt crazy. But I’m trying to practice listening to the childlike impulses of the Spirit within me, so when the sun came out one afternoon I put on my boots, climbed into the creek, laid down and let the flow of God’s grace splash over me.

It was freezing so it didn’t last long! But it was a joyful, breakthrough moment for me in the midst of the anxiety and turmoil. I felt free and full of life.

It hasn’t been all light and peace since then, but stand in grace has become my mantra. Every day we have the opportunity to live our baptism. To remember the utter goodness of God who loved us and gave himself for us. And if God is for us, what else will he not give us?

That is the ultimate source of life and hope in the midst of whatever we may be feeling or going through—whether fear and anxiety, or joy and peace. The same power that raised Christ from the dead created, sustains, and provides for us. The Spirit is alive and at work within us and will be with us forever.

Stand in grace, friends. It is flowing through us, around us, and upholds us. Sometimes we just have to be still and make the space to look for it.

Where are you seeing it today? What experiences can you look back on to remind yourself of who God is and who you are, even when you don’t feel it?