Having worked to Women’s Walk to Emmaus last month, I am even more conscious of God’s Grace than usual. When I heard someone using the phrase, “O give me a break!” several times recently, it got me to thinking about how God’s Grace is that ‘break’ we are looking for. There are so many blessings which come our way daily that are none other than God’s gift of unmerited love for us. For example, I was on my way to the hospital to visit someone when the ‘Low gas’ light came on. Gas has been running so much higher in Aztec, I was hoping to make it to the cheaper station in Farmington. As light after light stayed green for me, I breathed prayers of thanksgiving as I reached the station, “Thank You, Lord! O You who made the oil not run out for many days in ancient Israel are still making that gas in my pick-up miraculously last, too! Thank You, Heavenly Father for not giving me what I deserved, but blessing me instead.” (For I deserved to run out of gas for being foolish.) God gives us all many more “breaks” than we deserve! I need to spend more time in prayer giving thanks for all those little gifts of Grace: for the rainfall so we don’t have to water, for the car that didn’t hit me when the driver wasn’t looking, for the cold I didn’t catch when sneezed on in the grocery line, for the parking space that opens up for me, and I could go on and on! God is gracious to us in many ways throughout the daily things we do.

Thank You, Father for Your marvelous gifts of Grace to me day after day! Thank You for not giving me what I deserve and for Your patience in continuing to make me more and more like You. Forgive me when I get myself in trouble and then plead with You to get me out of that trouble. And thank You for the times when You allow struggles and problems because they help me to grow and to teach me many lessons I need to learn.

Thank You heavenly Father for the property You are allowing us to purchase. Having this opportunity is a gift of Grace, too. I see this opportunity to buy the land across from McCoy school as a way You are leading us into ministry opportunities that You want Your Church to be involved in. I see this opportunity as an answer to prayer, too. Help Your Church to see Your Grace happening in their individual lives and in our corporate life together, blessed God, for all these things I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pastor Jeff Symonds