It's Sufficient!

...God's grace that is! I have found this to be true in a real sense this week. How's that for a dramatic start to this post?! You are probably going to think I am pathetic if you keep reading, so...well, I guess you've been warned!

It's that time of year...as the the air turns cold, there's a nip in the air, and every night another home is visited by the ol' flu bug. That's right! That is what I think about at this time of year. Jolly aren't I? I will admit it: I am a hypochondriac when it comes to the stomach flu. "Oh Bek, everybody hates getting the flu!" you say? NO, I have a problem. Here is some of the evidence of said problem:

1. I can remember every single time I have thrown up in my 31 years. And I could probably count them on one hand...not bad right? But you'd think I was the most susceptible person in history with how nervous it makes me.

2. I lost weight over Thanksgiving...I only ate as much as I would want to throw up later...which wasn't much. Great way to enjoy a good Thanksgiving meal right?

3. I only cook certain kinds of foods when I know there is a possibility of the kids coming down with the flu. Nothing that has a tomato base...that can be harder to get out of carpet. So gross I know!

4. If I READ on some one's blog that they have had the flu at their home I get a stomach ache...because, you know, it's so contagious you can catch it from your computer screen!

5. My hands are dry and rough from all the hand washing I do

6. It consumes my prayer life. "God, please, please, please, PLEASE don't let us get the flu!!!" and then a minute later a repeat of the same prayer.

This is just some of the hard evidence of a problem. Last winter we actually never got the flu in our home but I worried about it the ENTIRE winter. Just bracing myself for it constantly. And it never hit. I said at the beginning of summer that if I had known that we weren't going to get it, I would have enjoyed winter a lot more. So, I thought I would be better this year.

But, November came, and then I started hearing whispers of homes being hit with it again. The panicked prayers began in earnest. And then I was talking to Matt last week about how I was praying that God would keep us all healthy through Thanksgiving. He kindly smiled and then said, "Maybe a better prayer would be to ask Him to give you the grace to deal with it if we get sick? And then just trust Him and quit praying about it."

Sigh...I knew as soon as he said it that he was right. So, last weekend, I got on my knees by my bed and whispered a prayer telling God I would stop bugging Him over and over with this request of not getting sick. I asked Him to just please give me the grace to respond to it in the way I should if we should get it. And then I left it there.

On Monday morning, I went into Darci and Aria's room and found that Darci had gotten sick. Now, the normal (well, normal for me) me would have freaked out. I would have probably started holding my breath, spraying down every surface of Darci and her room with disinfectant, praying hysterically, and probably muttering about how much I hate winter. But God graciously looked down on me and poured some of His powerful grace into my life.

If you know me well, you can attest to how powerful His grace is. I stayed calm (and I wasn't even faking it!), I didn't even call my sisters to tell them! I ate normally throughout the day...not starving myself in case I get it. I still cooked supper according to my rules because, well, that's just practical right?

Anyway, I wanted to thank God for His grace in my life...even in these seemingly small ways. If He can turn a hypochondriac to trust Him, what more could He do in other areas of my life?! What amazing grace! Ask for more today...He always gives what we need!

-Bek