katie rose writes

For years, I cheapened grace to a coat of paint. I kept my chains, my prison cell, my  strongholds . But I painted them gold and called it grace. Cold grace. Harsh grace. One-coat grace. Grace that I limited. squandered. used. That’s not grace. That’s not grace at all. Grace is not a coat of paint. It is not to be used to make things appear better than they really are. No, grace makes things how they were always meant to be.  Grace doesn’t make chains fashionable. Grace fashions freedom for us that fully and forever breaks our chains. Grace doesn’t make our prison cells livable. Grace opens the doors for us so we can get out and really live. Grace doesn’t say, “Remember where you’ve been. Remember what you’ve done.” Grace says, “Look at what lies ahead. Remember what He’s done.” Grace says, “Lift your gaze to the God whose eyes are alive with His love for you.” The one-coat grace I believed in—it says, “He loves you, but…” Do better. Be more. Cry less....

It seemed like a dream, too good to be true, when God returned Zion's exiles. We laughed, we sang, we couldn't believe our good fortune. We were the talk of the nations-- "God was wonderful to them!" God was wonderful to us; we are one happy people. And now, God, do it again-- bring rains to our drought-stricken lives So those who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest, So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing. --psalm 126, the message Three years ago, I got sick. Two years ago, I went back to school. One year ago, I began my application for journeyman. Today, I struggle to write and to process through this whole journey. I have an overseas assignment, a fabulous teammate, and a very, very long to-do list. I have the most supportive family, an amazing group of friends who rally together more quickly than I could ever ask them to, and a season of rest keeping me here for a ...