Grace in Weakness

2022 A challenging year of Grace

2022 has been a challenging and difficult year. For me, the year began with a major storm that knocked out our power for about a week. Frigid temperatures and no heat. Thankfully, we had a generator that allowed us to keep a space heater running and an electric blanket. It was enough to keep my 96 year old stepmother alive through the ordeal. However, she ended up with congestive heart failure by April and passed away in June. Hence ending my adventure in Central Virginia. My summer was spent closing out my parents house, selling the property and moving back to Chicago. Oh, did I mention that right after our power outage in January, I developed Covid. And, oh, yea for me. It turned out to the be the one with long recovery. I’m still struggling physically. However, I am glad to be alive! I am extremely grateful for God’s amazing grace through this season of change. At the same time, it has been a difficult year.

Grace works best in weakness

Strong people hate weakness. We hate it in ourselves and can be intolerant of it in others. Yet, Paul wrote about the weakness that accompanies God’s grace to the Corinthians.

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Cor. 12:9-10 NLT

Last year about this time the Lord gave me insight into an attack intended to wear out the saints. I don’t know about you, but I’m worn out. The strategy I was given was grace. That looks good on paper and makes for great blog posts. It’s something else to have to live it out. Yikes! What that turned out to be was incredible weakness and utter dependency.

What I found out about the recovery condition I’m struggling with, is that you can’t push through. If you do you actually can make things worse for yourself. That means it can actually take longer to fully recover. I’m a push through kind of person. However, the strategy for recovery is to pace yourself, get plenty of rest and not over do it.

I can do that now, but in April when my stepmom ended up on hospice and I was her primary caregiver I didn’t have that option. Even over the summer when I was packing up our house, not so much. I was dropping in my tracks and didn’t know what to do. The work had to get done but I could no longer do it. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, help arrived. Okay, we had to pay for it. I had to be willing to accept help, even if it meant paying for it. As long as I was willing to let go of control I began to recover.

When I was praying about what to do about my inevitable return to Chicago, the Lord directed me to accept my son’s offer to come and live with him for awhile. I love my son. But I am an independent, self sufficient person. I wanted my own place. You know, my own space. I am coming off of living with my parents for the past two and half years. I wanted to get MY LIFE back. God, however, had a better plan, a plan that included grace.

And yes, the transition has not been easy. The truth, however, is that it is exactly what I need. I hate to admit that I need help. But saying that I have had to come to terms with help is God’s grace. The strategy for overcoming the attack against the children of God in this hour is grace. That grace is going to come in packages we maybe didn’t expect.

A Time to Restore

This is a time of restoration. (see my previous post on the First Quarter of 5783 Restore) During these first three months of the Hebraic year 5783 God’s people are in a time of restoration. Restoration includes recover, repair, renewal. We are being Restored for Going Forward. God’s grace includes help and assistance from others. When the apostle Paul first went to Corinth, he went in weakness. (1 Cor. 2:3) His message was not eloquent. But it was full of the power of the Holy Spirit. In our weakness, God displays His strength. I don’t know how I am getting through these days of weakness. I only know that I am. That is God’s grace.

I pray as we approach the conclusion of 2022, that “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.” [1 Peter 5:10]