Amazing Grace

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me..."  My favorite hymn since the first moment I can remember hearing it.   Since we are coming upon Easter, a time of rejoicing, reflection and humbleness for all who know our Savior, I thought I'd share my favorite song.  This version is a little different than the original hymn, but I think the same message carries:

"When we've been there ten thousand years.  Bright, shining as the sun.  We've no less days to sing God's praise, then when we'd first begun." -The final verse of the song.  I think it reminds us that God's Love and Guidance for us are never fading. It will always be there, whether it be the day we give our whole hearts to him or long after we have left this earth and joined him in heaven.  There are no certain number of days to give God praise.  It was happening long before we were born and always will be.  His Grace, Love and Mercy are always present.

These two well known verses are ones I learned at a young age, and I will carry them with me always:

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

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."   -John 3:16-17

Change

It's been a really long time since I've written on this blog.  Not that I haven't wanted to, I just really haven't figured out what to say or write about.

I was reading over my last posts, especially the most recent, trying to see how much my life has changed since then.  In some areas it has, but most is still the same.   Most of what I wrote in my last post still applies today, so I keep asking myself the same questions; What can I do to change things? Will I have the strength, confidence and courage to change them?

I was spending time with my parents one evening, and we were having a discussion about my brother's personalities as well as my own.  One thing my mom said to me has stuck with me since: "Out of you and your brothers, you are the most independent."

That statement threw me for a moment.  While I understand how that could seem possible, since I was the first to move away and have always been comfortable being alone, I also felt that it wasn't completely true.  While I may be independent in some aspects, in many ways I feel the most dependent, especially when it comes to my family.  Not just my parents and siblings, but my whole family.  The thought of losing any of them is hard to bear. 

I've never handled change very well, and the last few years have brought much of it.  Friends getting married, losing loved ones, moving to new locations, even changing jobs.  While others around me have flourished and lived life, I have felt stuck in one place.  That's not to say I don't enjoy my jobs.  I love working at both! I just feel like the person standing at the base on one side of a mountain, wanting to take the next step by climbing to join everyone on the other side, yet still needing that push to take the first step. 


Most of this may not make sense, but that's okay.  I've never been the best with words. yet practice makes perfect, right?!