I thought I would take a moment this afternoon to share some of the other nuggets I received from the book. I doubt I will be able to find them all since I didn't mark them in any way. But I hope to find a few to pass along to you. Maybe something here will encourage and/or challenge you. Maybe you will want to pick up a copy of the book and read it for yourself. Who knows?!?!
Here we go.
As I open the book, there is a familiar Scripture passage (Psalm 23) that simply breathes life into me. Maybe it seemed more refreshing to me because of the unfamiliar words of The Message:
"God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word, you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction....
My cup brims with blessing."
Psalm 23:1-3, 5B
One nugget that will be hard to give just one example for is simply the story line and how lives and situations are woven in and out of each other to create a beautiful tapestry. It may not seem beautiful as the situations are being lived out in the moment or may be difficult to see and understand, but then there comes a moment of clarity in which you realize how things have worked together 'for such a time as this'. Those things are beautiful to me. They remind me that even though I can rarely see what the great Artist is doing in my life's tapestry, there is something going on bigger than I can imagine and much more beautiful than I could ever dream.
Another nugget woven throughout the book is that of friendship. In the book there is the friendship of sister-in-laws and a band of brothers in Christ who meet together for a time period. New friendships are born out of daily contact with vendors or situations and old friendships renewed. That is a great reminder to me that we are not on this journey of life alone, but rather we walk it with others-- past, present, and future. I have been super blessed to walk my life journey, my faith journey, with many who have encouraged me and supported me along the way. I could not have done it.... I could not do it..... I would not be able to continue to do it..... without each and every one. I am blessed!
Besides the term "grace on you", another term came from the book: "victims of grace". Jenna, the main character writes: "Sue now has a term for what happened in Venice. She says we were "victims of grace." I like that. Both of us had been victims of a lot of other stuff over the long years. How sweet of God to make us victims of grace when we were old enough to appreciate what the gift cost Him." (15)
Good stuff. I am thankful to be a victim of grace. It was tough to accept grace. At times it still is. It isn't easy to accept something free, undeserved, wonderful, something that will free you up and send you soaring. Yet, that is what grace is and does. Grace is transformational.
Though I've been to Italy on a mission trip, I have not been to Venice, Venezia. Reading this book was fun to put me back into Italy and into a part of Italy I haven't had the chance yet to experience. The nuggets here involved language and culture. I'm not recommending the novel over a travel guide or a language guide, but if you're planning to go to Venice or if you've been, what I am saying is that you will likely relate to what you read.
In addition to the "grace on you" phrase, here is the opposite one: "shame off you". They are different sides to the same coin, but maybe someone needs hear the "off" before they can hear the "on". The "shame off you" phrase is introduced in the book on page 70.
Here are two paragraphs that spoke to me of God's working in God's time, place, and space: (Jenna is writing)
"What I sensed in the kitchen that morning was the Spirit of God refreshing my sister-in-law through everything around us. We had been washed with the Word as Malachi read from the Psalms, then all the new experiences, tastes, encounters, and small challenges were displays of how God could care for Sue more than I ever could. My job wasn't to diagnose her or counsel her or try to teach her anything. We were students together. Equals in every way. Sue and I were fellow victims of grace.
I felt as if I'd just been shown my place--a clarification of my role in our friendship in this new season of diving into the deep end and experiencing the refreshing that comes from such a plunge. I had places deep inside me that I needed to examine and that needed healing, too, but Sue wasn't trying to fix those in me. All I had to do was be here and receive the grace as it fell on me." (124)
Going deeper and deeper on the faith journey, growing in grace and healing, and willing to walk it with others. That continues to be my path. As I walk it with others, I attempt to listen to the Spirit's guidance along the way, to know what to say, to know when to be silent, to know when to simply "be". I don't always get it right. But, there is grace for those times. Life is too short to not seek to live intentionally in love and grace and to grow through the pain that leads to healing. That's what I've learned over the years. And, more recently, I've seen a young life exhibit boldness of God's love exuding from him to everyone as he followed the example of Christ. I will write more about this incredible person at another time. To live and love boldly while allowing the space of grace for healing and growth.... this is part of my calling as a guide through the wilderness.
Telling our stories to one another often allows for healing as we see the workings of grace in one another's lives. There were such stories in this book. Again, I won't share the details, that's for you to read. But I will share this quote with you because it speaks to us being present to one another in order to be able to share our stories. Sam, the leader of the men's gathering says: "I'm beginning to think that 90 percent of what we should be doing as believers is just to show up." (197) Sometimes we are hesitant to share our stories because of the shame we still carry and the fear of what others will think or say. Yet, when we have accepted the grace for ourselves, it is easier to share and others can hear and see the grace in our stories. Then, they can likely find it easier to share their stories if they haven't been able to yet. It becomes a ripple effect of grace and freedom.
Jenna writes: "I remembered every word those two men spoke over me on that balcony. I'm sure I will remember every word for the rest of my life. They blessed me and empowered me to "go," even though I still didn't know where I was supposed to go or exactly what I was supposed to do.
The beautiful part was that I didn't need to know those specifics yet. What I did know was that I was free. I, at long last, had put on the grace God had given me. It was real. Very real. And I had a feeling it looked even better on me than my swishy new skirt." (201-202)
Where do you need grace in your life? How can you show grace to someone else? Are you ready to put on the grace that God is ready to give you so that you can extend it to others? You need not know your next steps, ever. My friend Thomas Merton reminds me of that too. ☺ It's not about the "going" and "doing", but rather about the "being". Yet, there comes a time to "go" and "do". And, when that time comes, walk into the light of the next clear lit step that you can see.
Who knew that one could glean so many nuggets from a Sisterchicks novel?!?! Thank you Robin Jones Gunn for sharing your gift of writing and God's grace through these books.
Wherever you find yourself at this moment on the journey, I pray that you might know grace and that you will take some time to rest in the meadows, drink from the quiet pools, catch your breath, and then move onward, sent, in the right direction.
Blessings on your journey,
Debra
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