GRACE

Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of God's unchanging love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

I admit, I haven't been a hymn fan the past several years, but they have come back into my life in the past 8 months. And although the musical style hasn't grown on me, I'm falling in love with the lyrics. They have a richness that I had forgotten about- and not only in the actual poetic words. Just think, this song (along with hundreds of others) has stood the test of time. A man penned these words in 1757, and since then, groups of believers have worshiped through them together, finding meaning and redemption. I too find meaning and redemption in those words. But I also feel a connection. It's as if I'm singing it along with them 200+ years ago. I know by those lyrics that I am not alone in my struggles and journey in this life.

And that last stanza is probably one of my favorite quotes of all time.

It focuses on what I have constantly been meditating on recently: grace.

I have always found that to be the most difficult aspect of my personal walk with Christ. We live in such a culture that is hounded by works and worthiness, pushing ourselves past our limits to strive for a far fetched goal. And it has (by no doubt in my mind and experience) translated into my faith. To quote another song, "When all the Love in the world is right here among us... I don't know what to do with a Love like that." Perfectly and beautifully honest isn't it? I can't comprehend the Spirit's unending stream of grace. I just can't. But I'll take it!

Right now, I'm actually sitting outside on my back porch by the lake. I've sat here since I was 13, and it's my favorite spot to spend time just thinking and reflecting. Again, I feel connected. This time, to my 13 year old self. I can feel it washing over me as I breathe in this moment. Only grace allows me to look at my life thus far and feel peace. Grace allows me to laugh, sing, love, cry, feel, think, learn, grow and dream.

Yet, I can't begin to name all the areas in my life that still need to be touched by grace. How painful it is to think that I forget the crux of it all too often.
But today I don't forget.
Today... I'm swimming in it.