June #jammed: Under the Blanket of Grace.
Day 170: In the back pocket.
Reaching over to buckle my seat belt, an oblong object dug into my leg through my pocket.
“Who’s purple cat is this?”
There’s always a toy in my pocket, and crap in my car. Fast food toys, pencils, broken crayons, books, papers, stickers on the seats and the windows as my youngest decorates her space …
No one in their right mind before they have kids every imagines a day when it will be acceptable to allow kids to eat in the car …let along bring -and leave- ‘stuff’ in it.
Today’s verse reminds us that our way is not always THE way.
It’s a part of the story of a shipwreck where everyone lives, but the ship goes down. The ship went down, because the captain navigated his way instead of listening to Paul, who spoke God’s way. I wonder how many regretted the captain’s decision, as they floated to shore on pieces of the ship. Fragments of the whole.
“The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.” Acts 27:44
The fragmental evidence I find in my pockets and littered in my car are fallout from a ship that has wrecked, ran around, been through multiple replacement props, sunk once or twice, and had to use the emergency flares.
This ship …my ship …has always been a hot mess. Yet, God somehow rights it over and over again. I may have a purple cat jabbing me in the knee and my car might be trashed, but it doesn’t bother me. I’m OK with it. I’ll take it. It blesses me. All of it. Because, through my entire mess of way, He never left me once. In fact, He died so He’d never have to leave me. And I’m glad. Because without Him, I would have drowned long before that purple cat got lodged in my pocket.
His way or the highway, I say. Even though I speed up the off-ramp from time to time in a panic or a weak moment, Jesus is the light of my life. I want to listen to Paul. I don’t want to wreck my ship. I treasure it’s messy pieces. I want to stay His course until I navigate all the way home to Him.
“In this way…”
Father, Praise You for my mess of a ship! Thank You for salvaging it over and over again. I confess that I don’t always feel like a precious vessel. Please remind me when I’m too hard on myself, that You are not. Following Your stars always. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Navigating,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
+ view comments . . .