Grace on a Thursday: in Jami's words



Meet Jami.

She's got a wonderful little corner of the blogosphere over at Call Me Blessed.

She is a dedicated mommy of four, a beautiful example of a loving wife, and a humble daughter of God. I am regularly challenged by her gracious and grateful attitude, and faith-filled outlook on her life. I'm also thankful to call her a friend; we recently had lunch together after discovering that we grew up in the same area and even went to rival high schools with only one school year between us. (And over lunch, I discovered that those couple hours were so not enough!)

Today, she has some wise words for us from her own lessons learned on grace.
Thanks so much, Jami, for sharing your heart and the truths we all need to hear.



I am a recovering grudge holder.  

And you didn't get a chance to mess up twice in my eyes.

I suppose it was a defense mechanism. A sign of insecurity. When you are relying on other people to make you happy, putting up your defenses comes in handy.

One thing you can be sure of...people will always disappoint you. I never stopped to consider I was behaving unfairly or hurting myself.

The gift of grace was so huge for me to receive because it meant grace for me, and grace for those around me.

Why would I put such a burden on those I loved? Why did I expect them to meet my needs, to bring me joy? 

Because I didn't trust God to fill me. I didn't believe He was enough. And as I continually relied on family, friends and acquaintances to make me happy, the more distant I became. Don't we all fall short? I could have spent my whole life this way. Like a hamster on a wheel. But God rescued me and showed me amazing grace.

"In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" 

Psalm 56:4

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:26

Today I don't need to cut people off at the slightest hint of trouble, because it is God who brings me joy. It is God I rely on. In His spirit I can overlook transgressions, I can show love in difficult situations and I can be assured that I will never be rejected. I know where my joy truly comes from and it makes me a better person. A better wife, mother, daughter and friend. God gave me grace so I could give it to others, and I humbly pray I don't disappoint Him.