Grace

My eldest daughter turned 14 yesterday.  Fourteen!  The ages keep getting harder to swallow each birthday.  It's so hard to believe how quickly the years are passing.

We decided to celebrate her birthday on Sunday, since Monday was chock full of crazy, and Sunday was blessedly peaceful. Daddy and the boys went roller skating and played laser tag (thanks to a free coupon!), and Mommy and the girls went to see Frozen.  Side note:  I did cry, but did not make a fool of myself, thank heavens.  We all reconvened, had dinner, sang to our girl, and she opened her presents.  We all took turns saying something we appreciated about her, and some of the responses were very heartfelt.

And then we had devotions, as we do every night.  Usually at the end we gather around the piano and sing a hymn, but this particular night, one of the kids requested we sing a contemporary piece called Your Grace Finds Me.  Here are a few  all of the lyrics (read them all, or read a few):

It’s there in the newborn cry
There in the light of every sunrise
There in the shadows of this life
Your great grace

It’s there on the mountain top
There in the everyday and the mundane
There in the sorrow and the dancing
Your great grace
Oh such grace

[CHORUS:]
From the creation to the cross
There from the cross into eternity
Your grace finds me, yes your grace finds me

[VERSE 2:]
It’s there on a wedding day
There in the weeping by the graveside
There in the very breath we breathe
Your great grace

The same for the rich and poor
The same for the saint and for the sinner
Enough for this whole wide world
Your great grace
Oh such grace

[CHORUS]

[CHORUS 2:]
There in the darkest night of the soul
There in the sweetest songs of victory
Your grace finds me
Yes your grace finds me

Your great grace
Oh such grace
Your great grace
Oh such grace

[BRIDGE:]
So I’m breathing in Your grace
And breathing out Your praise
I’m breathing in Your grace
Forever I’ll be

[BRIDGE 2X]

[ENDING:]
Your grace finds me
Yes Your grace finds me

And this is the scene:  Every one of us is singing with all we've got, and my four-year-old is in her own world, dancing and twirling around the living room.  And suddenly, my heart is in my throat.  My emotions get the better of me and I feel tears well up.  So much grace!  So many gifts in this room, too numerous to count. My oldest son looking suddenly so mature, belting out his praise.  My older daughter, smiling serenely at her little sister.  My youngest son, cuddling up with his father, happy and content.  My middle son, affable as always, grinning across the room at me.  My little daughter pirouetting to the beat.  And my husband, flanked by our children, looked quite moved himself.   The newborn cry . . .the everyday and the mundane . . .there on the wedding day . . .the same for the saint and for the sinner . . . In every moment, we're breathing in God's grace and breathing out His praise.

The years keep flying by, getting faster by the moment.  My 14 year old is visiting high schools. My younger daughter will be going to school every day next year.  I am considering working a bit next year.  Things are a-changin' around here.  But one thing is not:  God's grace is ever present.  In every situation, unfamiliar or established, we will continue to breathe in His grace and continue to breathe out His praise.