Fred's Grace

I guess it's like all things. Life can be filled with mistakes, hurt, changes, and loss. The challenge comes when we move from the sorrow of these things into regret.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in regret! Regret stirs up too many negative emotions and a lot of wasted energy. I can't change the past, but I can influence my present and my future. It's up to me which course I choose. It's up to you how you perceive it, and respond to it.

My life, is a life full of constant change. Just when I think I've got a good grip on reality, the Lord throws me a curve ball and shows me just how inept I am without Him.

For instance...Fred (my rooster who used to be Ethel until we found out he wasn't a hen) has shown me that there are exceptions to the rule of " three strikes, you're out". If I hadn't risked approaching him without my stick, after he flogged me three times, he would probably be the "chicken" in my dumplings.

I had to move beyond my fear of being flogged again to placing myself in the position of vulnerability. When I did this, even though the hair was standing up on the back of my neck, he strutted out of the coop casually, without confrontation. I cautiously watched him out of the corner of my eye, but I did not stare him down daring him to try it one more time. I try in my compassion to approach people in the same way. Just think how many relationships would be null and void in our lives if we lived by the rule "three strikes, you're out".... Something to ponder, anyway.

I work with a collective group of individuals who are also in the constant "change" mode, and also learning how to meet life head on, successfully. Some learn more quickly than others. And, I include myself in this analogy as well.

One of the greatest lessons that can be learned in this life is the art of forgiveness. If I had not placed myself in the position of vulnerability, Fred would be dead meat. But, I examined the situations surrounding the "floggings" and said, "What did I miss?", and, "Why did his perception of me change?" For some unknown reason, he moved from trust, to fear and suspicion. We as humans do the same thing sometimes. Our "perception" of a situation can cause the same reaction as Fred's. But, there is a difference in us at the top of the food chain. We have the ability to reason, and respond. Fred only has the ability to react to a perceived threat, this is self-preservation to Fred. But, God made us with the ability to reason.

For whatever reason that Fred perceived me as a threat, as soon as my vulnerability returned and the "glare down" and big stick were removed, things returned to normal, almost. Will he ever be placed back into "most favored chicken" status? I'm not sure. But, what I do know is that he has the ability to hurt me, if he "perceives" me as a threat. My position must remain one of vulnerability, even though at this point I exercise caution in my approach.

Do you see the lesson of grace here? I sure do! But, because I have moved from trying to accomplish ALL the works of the law, and living under it's penalty of death (and the condemnation associated with it) to seeing the fulfillment of it in Christ Jesus, I find myself examining my life situations, looking for the grace of God...

"God's divine influence on the heart, that is evident in the LIFE and walk of believers."

I could have killed Fred, in my unforgiveness! But, the lesson of grace prevented his demise. God, in His mercy, caused me, by His grace, to reevaluate the situation and see what I had not "seen" before... The BIGGER picture. "For by grace we are SAVED and that not of it's self, but it is the GIFT of God, through Christ Jesus."

God forgave me of my sin, because of the faith that HE gave me in the atonement of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, BY HIS GRACE. Uh-mazing!...