Grace>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hey Fam,

It's been an interesting few weeks in my life. There have been ups and more than a few downs, but through it all God's grace has been sufficient. Last Friday this statement became a reality.My mother and I were traveling down Charlotte Avenue when someone ran through a red light near an intersection. He was going about 65mph which is fast in comparison to the mere 45mph I was traveling. Thankfully, I was able to break and avoid a complete T-Bone situation, solely an act of God. Once the car stopped and collided I was selfishly concerned about the damage done to my 2013 Nissan Sentra. My first reaction to my mother in the passenger seat , "Are you okay?" followed by a QUICK"Thank You Lord."Next came the tears accompanied by, "Why is this happening to me God? I serve you. I pray. I make good grades. Why? You and daddy just bought me this two weeks ago! I cannot believe he ran that light!" None of this was aided by the cursing and rude remarks from outside my window by the person that hit us. Of course, my mother in her calm, gentle, loving voice looked me in the eyes and replied, "Bad things happen to good people. You should be praising God that He gave you the ability to stop this car in time. You can get another car any day." She was so right that it stung! God had just spared my life and I was worried about my car.

One of my favorite worship songs is "You Have Won Me".The first line of the song is, "Grace, you've shown me grace." Coincidently(not really), this is the exact line that I posted with the pictures from my accident. God showed me grace by allowing my mom and I to walk a way from a serious car crash alive, he showed me grace through the people who have loved us, prayed for us, and visited. Most importantly, He showed me grace when my own selfish heart did not even appreciate the fact that he was pouring grace out over my life.

These past few days have been tough, they have been hard, tiring, frustrating, and even painful.Still, they have been filled with grace. Grace is so many things to each of us, it is debated upon, taught, and preached about. In fact, a few weeks ago I was talking to a friend about how we were so imperfect as human beings. Yet, we have an opportunity to know this amazing God of grace, a single factor that changes EVERYTHING. As our conversation continued, I sent a text message that looked similar to this: Grace >>>>>>>>>>>>. Those of you who know twitter jargon are following me at the moment. For those of you who are not as technologically savvy, ask a young person. His reply to my message was something like, " You couldn't ever put too many >>>>s." This is just another example of how sometimes the things we preach and talk about become our reality in a matter of days.

I have accepted that I will not ever fully understand grace on this side of life. I do however understand that it is >>>>>>>>>>> and then some, it is indeed sufficient as 2 Corinthians 12:9 says. The catch is that we must let it be sufficient, His power is made perfect in our weakness. I am sure some of you cringe at the word weakness, especially the fellas. To be honest, I would have before this week(I even insisted that I walk myself to the ambulance!). I am NOT suggesting that we go around and strive to be weak. Nor, do I see this as the intent of the verse. I am saying that when we are weak, broken, hurt,tested, tried, or even sitting in the middle of the intersection selfishly complaining about a totaled new car, His grace is sufficient. However, it is up to us to accept it, to walk in in, and to show it to others. In the coming weeks I plan to work on showing grace to others, I think I will start by forgiving the man who almost cost my mother and I our lives. It has not and will not be easy, but Grace >>>>>>>.

Peace, Love, & Grace,

Brittany

*** My mother and I suffered moderate injuries from the accident and are on the road to recovery. Your prayers are appreciated. ***

*** >>>>>>= awesome, greater than, amazing, insert any super awesome and positive word about a subject ***