Grace...

Summer, Autumn, and Winter trees... in one day

I have been thinking of grace this weekend, partly from the season and after reading some comments from the Sunday Afternoon Tea post.  When thinking about the post, the words "Grace in the Grey Areas" circled around my head all day as if wanting to become an entire volume of thought.

They will not as there is much to do outside this week but I was reminded again of the need to live a life of grace... giving and taking... when it comes to those areas of faith which are not written in black and white.  While there are those statements I hold absolute (the Virgin birth of Christ, the Resurrection, His being The Way and The Truth and The Life, etc.) some things are just not written in stone and we must be willing to give and take.

For instance, I chose not to read the Harry Potter books when Christopher was young but one of my very best friends at the time... a well respected Bible teacher... collected all of them.  We do not "celebrate" Halloween but we did hand out candy when living in a neighborhood.  I have Christian friends who have Halloween parties as well as those who don't believe in going as far as handing out candy to neighbor kids.

I wear slacks and one of my good friends does not.  I watch Science Fiction and have friends who don't believe in watching any television.  I personally do not wear shorts which go above the knee as I used to... a change which came more with a decision for modesty rather than age.  But I have Christian friends who do and that is fine.  None of these decisions have anything reflecting salvation... grace in the gray areas.

Having said that, I also see this time of year as God's grace to those of us who have a difficult time seeing the autumn leave... it was unusually beautiful in our part of the country this year.

As I looked at my surroundings through the lens of the camera, I realized I was seeing a bit of summer and a lot of autumn and an increasing winter landscape... all in this very brief time of year as the leaves are past peak but many continue to hold onto their branches.

It won't be too long before my neighbor's red barn will stand out in a world of white.  I can wait, though.

The view from the front porch is looking more like winter each day, one can easily see into the forest now.  Excuse the trash waiting for pick up.  This is the real world.  :)

I love Grace... I want to live in Grace and have it fall upon my head like the soon coming snow or the heavy rains of spring.  I want to give Grace and take Grace and surround my life with Grace. 

I don't want to be afraid of Grace thinking it will lead me astray... past the gray areas and into that which I should not tread.  There is no fear in Grace if we are holding fast to the Giver of Grace.

That is all that matters.