Monday, December 29, 2014

Grace in Small Places

He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.
Psalm 18:19


I'm learning that God's grace comes to us in surprising places . . . 

And many times that His grace comes in small places, in unexpected places, in places that the world looks over, but that the Lord sees as His stepping-stones to glory.

The manger, a small place, that held the glory of the Son of Righteousness, the Firstborn of creation. 

A small basket, whose five loaves and two fish fed 5000 and a small boy who offered the meager and the small. 

A small following - twelve disciples - whose testimony through the Lord's power shook nations. 

The Lord works through small things, so that His glory may shine greater through the impossibility of it all. 

And that all the glory is His alone. 

I'm in a small place right now. 



I didn't think of it as small when I first married, when my husband and I made our "home" in my Mom's home 5 years ago. 

It was cozy then, and we didn't need a lot of space; it was adequate, and we loved living with my Mom and still do. 

But then, the first baby came along, a little girl, and things got "cozier." 

It was still alright, though, and became a little easier when my Mom offered us the spare room for her to sleep in just before I gave birth to our second child.

A little boy. 

And I thought, how am I going to do this, fit all of our things, keep everything organized, stay sane? 

Add to this that my Mom has her house up for sale and most of my belongings are in storage. 

And that I am by nature an excessively organized person - for better, or for worse - and that I feel like I'm losing it when things are "out of place." 

I felt overwhelmed. And I looked at the clutter around me, the organized clutter, but clutter nonetheless, and I felt like it was closing in around me. 

And the space seemed so small  and I envied my friends who owned homes and even the ones who had apartments and I thought, if only I had more space. 

If only I had more space . . . 

If only I could organize my baby's toys and books . . . 

If only I could find Elisha's baby book - it must be packed away somewhere . . . 

If only, if only, if only. 

But the Lord constantly speaks to me in this small place, and though I still struggle with discontentment, I ultimately would not have it any other way.

Because this is His will for me right now. 

I know, I know, I know that He has placed me here for this time and that at the right time, He will bring me out into a spacious place. 

There are lessons that I have learned in this "small place" that I could never have learned anywhere else. 

So I would not change anything. 

And this small place holds blessings, hidden blessings, when I look beyond the "littleness" of my own thinking. 

My mother's constant loving influence on my children and the Godly advice that she offers me on a daily basis . . . 

Learning contentment in a "small place" so that by His grace, I may not take His provision for granted if He should choose to place me in a larger place . . .

My sister's help with my daughter when I was healing after giving birth to my second child . . .

My family's constantly stepping in to watch my babies for doctor's appointments, etc. 

So many blessings, countless blessings. 

And I'm reminded -

Reminded that the Lord works through the small, through the insignificant for
His glory.


And I believe that He will work through my small place, too. 



He's humbling me, teaching me to depend upon Him, softening my nit-pickiness into surrender. 

Sometimes we want great things, big things, when the Lord often works through the small. 

We want greatness, and then the Lord teaches us that to become great we must first learn to serve (Mark 10:35-45).

That He takes widows' mites, and poverty and our lack of ability so that He can work His glory and strength through our weakness. 

He works through small places . . . and then in His perfect timing, enlarges the pathway under us, so that our feet do not slip. 

So I hold onto this promise, and thank Him in the meantime for the grace to grow in this blessed small place:


“Enlarge the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;

Lengthen your cords,

And strengthen your stakes. 

For you shall expand to the right and to the left, 

And your descendants will inherit the nations, 

And make the desolate cities inhabited." 



Isaiah 52:2-3



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28 comments:

  1. So grateful we have His Promises to hold onto as He is so faithful to each of us. Blessings today!

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    1. Thank you for those words! He is so faithful--blessings to you as well!

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  2. Just beautiful Rebekah. A reminder for us all!

    Thank you also for sharing at the Art of Home-Making Mondays in 2014. We are looking forward to your sharing with us in 2015...

    May your new year be blessed :)

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    1. Thank you, JES! Blessings upon you and your family, also, in the new year!

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  3. Thank you for the reminders! Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful New Year!

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    1. You're welcome, Debbie! I hope that you have a wonderful New Year, too! :-)

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  4. Thank you so much for sharing you open and beautiful words! I learn a lot from your blog and I am so glad we know and love the same Lord: our Helper nd Saviour Jesus Christ.

    God bless you.

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    1. Oh, you're welcome, Jedidja! I am blessed to know you, sweet sister in the Lord :-).

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  5. So good! Grace in the small places...He is always there. ♥

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  6. Your post encourage me too for not giving up although I can only small results of some of efforts. In God's eyes, everything is worth:)
    Happy New Year!

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    1. Thank you, Joy! Happy New Year to you, too! :-)

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  7. You know, there is a book by an author who uses that exact scripture quote when she was longing for more space in her home for her children and family. It's kind of a collection of musings on homemaking, homekeeping, and as I recall, trying to fit her work-at-home office into her tiny dining room, along with other memoir-type stuff.

    Peterson, Margaret Kim. Keeping House: the Litany of Everyday Life. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, 2007.

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    1. Thank you for letting me know about that book! It sounds very interesting! :-) Blessings to you!

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  8. I was just feeling frustrated with my small space yesterday. This is precisely what I needed to hear! Thank you for sharing and encouraging me.

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    1. Oh, I'm so glad that it was an encouragement, KC! May the Lord bless us both in our "small places" for His glory-- :-)

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  9. Oh, there is so can learn if we just listen to what God is trying to say to us. What a wonderful journey He has you on and how many blessings you have. Thanks for sharing this great post at Good Morning Mondays. Thanks for the reminder that we don't need to have everything to actually have everything. Blessings

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  10. You're welcome, Terri! Blessings to you, too! :-)

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  11. Thank you for this post! I live with my family of 7 in a 2 bedroom house and there is always plenty of love inside the small home.
    In Christ,
    Emma

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    1. Oh, you're welcome, Emma! The Lord bless you and your family!

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  12. Wonderful post, Rebekah. Happy New Year!

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    1. Thank you, Heather; happy New Year to you, too! :-)

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  13. Beautiful post and such a reminder that God is always teaching us we just have to listen to His still small voice. so glad you shared your post on the HomeAcre Hop last week. It was the most liked and the most visited post on the Hop last week and will be featured on all the hosts blog tomorrow! Congratulation! Hope you stop by and link up again and pick up your I was featured button!
    - Nancy

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    1. Thank you, Nancy; I'm so glad that it was an encouragement! The Lord bless you--:-)

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  14. Hi Rebekah,
    Thanks so much for sharing your post on The HomeAcre Hop last week! Congratulations on winning the featured spot!

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    1. You're welcome, Lisa! I was really blessed to hear that! I hope that you have a wonderful week. :-)

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  15. Replies
    1. Thank you, Christina; I'm glad that you visited! :-)

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