Grace From Beginning to End

At the end of today's post, I have a little something extra - a free printable of one of the verses I shared. You can also find a link to it on my new "Printables" page. 

Sometimes it's hard to see God at work in our lives. When we're struggling, it's easy to forget that He's in the middle of the mess with us. Sometimes it's only when we look back that we see His work and realize He was right beside us the whole time. There have been many times in my life like this, but honestly, His grace starts at the very beginning of my story.
 
Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you..." A few years ago, I shared the story of my birth in my post "First Grace." You can read the whole story here. The short version is that I had a 50/50 chance of surviving after a doctor's bad call led to a very difficult delivery. Even if I lived, there was the very real possibility of brain damage. God's grace was there from my first breath or I wouldn't be here.
 
Grace was there as I grew up. There were times I could have taken the wrong path, the one that led away from God - but He placed people in my life to turn me back to the road to Him. There were times He protected me from danger I didn't even know was there until it passed. There were the times He healed me when I could have faced surgery or worse. His grace covered me.
 
 Even in the bad times, there was grace. When I had nothing, God provided and gave me all I needed. When I was afraid and couldn't see the next step, God walked with me. When I stumbled under the heavy load I carried, He carried me.

Isaiah 46:4 says "Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; and I will bear you and I will deliver you."
"Your graying years" - my hairdresser will tell you I'm there. She points out every six weeks how quickly the gray in my hair is spreading. As much as I've always loved this verse, I didn't expect to hit my graying years so soon. I'm not even forty yet. Life is passing by faster than I ever imagined.
 
My life is changing quickly. My oldest son is finishing his junior year of high school. My youngest is in eighth grade. The babies I carried in my body now tower several inches taller than me. Within just a few years, there will be two less people living in our house as our boys grow up and move out. Our nest will be empty. My husband and I will begin a whole new phase of life.

It's scary, knowing everything is about to change. I want to hang onto the here and now, or rewind time and relive past moments. But I can't. I march on through my graying years. But I know that God meets me here. He promised He would.

Psalm 71:18 says "And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to those who are to come." God isn't done. Until I breathe my last, He has a purpose for me. He has a role for me to fill, and He will give me grace to do it.
 
One day, when my life ends on this earth and my new life in eternity begins, I believe I'll look back see His hand in every aspect of my life, the good and the bad, grace from beginning to end.
 
Do you need a reminder of His never ending grace as much as I do? I've created a free printable for you! Click here for the card size version of Isaiah 46:4. Print it out and use it to memorize this scripture. Or use it as a reminder that God's grace is always with us. I hope you enjoy it!