A few weeks back, my lawn mower took a dive. Its now mid spring and early onset of summer, and my lawn has been in dire need of some attention. After scouring Craig's List for weeks with no luck, my friend offered his to borrow for the day. I made the trip to his house, loaded it up and off I went home to mow. I got it home and unloaded with the help of my neighbor, cranked it up and started pushing. Now I must mention my yard is very large, and located near a river area so its very sandy in spots. This mower was heavy and so hard to push, and the wheels were set at the shortest cut. It was hot, I had to take a few breaks just mowing the front yard. I was out of breath, some spots I could hardly push the mower, but the worst was yet to come - The Back Yard! I moved to the back yard, drenched in sweat, exhausted, but determined to finish. I started with the tallest grass, telling myself to just keep going, I was not going to be defeated by this mower. I was pulling and pushing with all of my might, but then something happened that changed everything in a single moment.
My phone rang, it was my friend. He wanted to make sure I was aware of the lever on the handle that turned this beast of a mower into a self propelled machine. In that moment I was relieved and frustrated. Frustrated at how hard I had worked when it could have been so easy, but relieved at how easy the rest of my yard would be to mow. In one moment went from struggling to just simply following the mower. It was amazing.
That day I had a realization of Grace and its meaning. My pastor used to say,"Faith is your hold on God, and Grace is His hold on You. Unearned, undeserved favor from God" Here I had been struggling to mow, working so hard trying to make it happen all by myself, but I didn't have to. The moment I let the mower take over, I was simply following it. No more pushing, pulling, or effort on my part. In life we do this, we work so hard, we push to make things happen when God is saying trust me, follow me, I got this!
God help me to never forget your Grace is sufficient for me. I trust you to lead me, and plow the way for me.
