“Can you really not throw this away?” I say to my husband with irritation, holding up a crumpled piece of paper that I know, before I pick it up, is a list of groceries that he bought at the store.
He sighs and says he’ll try. Later I apologize for my grumpiness when it comes to those many shopping lists strewn around our home. I have tried to train myself to stop, apologize, and ask for forgiveness when I get annoyed or lose my temper with family members, often over the little things of life. Sometimes it’s easier to adhere to the “stopping” part of that cycle than at other times, even though after the fact I wish I could reel in my tongue sooner.
Can you recall a time you didn’t honor Christ in the day-to-day of life? Unfortunately, I could share several other stories! But a wonderful and freeing part of serving our forgiving God is how He runs toward us with grace and love. Though we fail, in the little moments of the day or the big ones, He offers us a fresh start, a clean slate. We’re His beloved—He doesn’t label us by our wrongdoings.
The Beloved Daughter
God running toward us, arms outstretched with love, is pictured in the well-known parable Jesus tells of the Prodigal Son (see Luke 15:11–31). Imagine a slice of this familiar story—with a twist—and see how your heart reacts:
[Read the rest over at the God Hears Her website and join in with this wonderful community]
