The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

Titus 2:11

Our personal story begins when we receive God’s gift of grace. But who receives a gift without opening it? With the unwrapping come amazing surprises. We begin to experience things we previously could not have dreamed of. Even in the middle of life-as-usual, we see new dimensions and a new purpose. 2+2 now equals 7 or 10 or infinity. The only explanation is that the grace of God is at work in our life.

The final stage comes when we begin to comprehend that this flows from the Lord’s gracious gift of grace. No matter how deeply we dig into our circumstances, we cannot explain the blessings we experience in terms of our actions or attitudes.

There is no parity with grace. Once that hits us, we understand that we are free to enjoy this life, these blessings and, most of all, God Himself. Trusting Him in every circumstance becomes the ruling dynamic of our life as we come to know that nothing, absolutely nothing can ever separate us from God’s love and grace.  (Romans 8:39)

Nancy Shirah