What comes to mind when you think about “grace,” Dear Reader? When I was a brand-new Christian, I was taught the acronym: God’s Favor at Christ Expense. Does that sound familiar to anyone else? That definition worked fine for a long time. Thankfully, during the intervening decades, one of the ways God has shown me favor is by growing my understanding to so much more.
One of the biggest insights has been when the Lord showed me grace in unexpected ways. I think those are the times that are most meaningful to me. A “divine appointment,” as my friend, Suanne, calls them when people seem to serendipitously cross paths, and sometimes lives are changed for the better.
Enter Mary and Augie.
Tom and I dashed in for a few minutes at the graduation celebration of dear friends’ daughter. We were quickly introduced to lots of family members, none of which I can remember their names. Then our friend introduced us to his mom, Mary, and stepdad, Augie.
Our friend, Rick, said both his mom, Mary, and his stepdad, Augie, loved to read. Rick seemed to think they would enjoy reading my books. They joyfully agreed. I told Augie a new book written for men at the unhoused shelter we support, Man Up!, was coming out in a couple of weeks. I promised to send him a copy. In a short span of time, Mary and Augie had requested and read nearly all of my published books.
For those writers out there, we can probably agree, that the flattery of fans can be pretty heady stuff. Because really, who doesn’t enjoy flattery once in a while. And my pragmatist friends, we know flattery is usually ephemeral, and frequently real life kicks in to whisk it away.
With no new book on the horizon, I thought that was probably the end of the road with Mary and Augie; I was wrong. Just because we don’t see God’s hands at work doesn’t mean He isn’t busy on our behalf. It’s easy to forget He’s in control, even if His plans for us seem slippery to grab hold onto.
All of the following blessings will be yours—in fact, they’ll chase after you—if you’ll listen to what He tells you.
A few months later, a topic began tickling my brain, then launching into full-blown research and content alignment. Remember the part about real life kicking in? Well, it did, and sadly the manuscript in the making fell by the wayside. At least it did until God showed me the favor of His grace. This is the note I received from Mary.
This beautiful note from a well-read person changed everything! I believe the Lord knew the written word from someone I respected was exactly the grace I needed to get me back to work, but at a slower pace than usual.
Then sadly, Mary passed away this past May. I became determined to finish Mary’s book by her birthday, today, November 26.
And what about Augie?
Augie has become my champion as I’ve run to the finish line of Running Toward the Danger. May I introduce you to him, and the book he and Mary inspired me to finish?
Running Toward the Danger post Links
Danger’s Journey Post Links
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