ZPCBlog

Editor's note

About the author: Lori Fulk has been a member of ZPC since 2015, serving as a Deacon, MOPS mentor, and helper within Children Ministries. She owns a small event planning company, and has been a freelance writer for a variety of publications including Indy's Child Magazine and USA Today. Lori spends most of her time cooking, whispering to her rose bushes, laughing with her husband, Greg, and chasing her two favorite jumping jacks (Sara, age 14, and Kelly, age 12).

About this post: We want to stay connected! This blog post is part of a series of daily devotionals for this season. Read them, share them, and pray that they bring God's peace and love to our communities. To sign up to receive text notification of these posts, text zpc to 39970. We welcome your comments and questions each day.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Psalm 6:2-3

My first bible was given to me in the 7th grade, where I wrote inside, “First Babtist Church," meaning the very first thing I ever wrote in a Bible was a typo. Thinking back to my mindset at the time, it stands to reason I would have made several mistakes that year. I had become the focus of a group of “mean girls:” I was beleaguered and frightened on a daily basis. I thought my middle school nightmare would never end. (But of course it did: I switched schools, made a huge group of friends at church, and became all the wiser for my troubles.) While I would love to cast a golden light on my behavior during that trying year, I’m sure I was a challenging kid. After all, there isn’t anything more hopeless than a miserable 12 year old!

Now I have a 7th grader of my own, who is looking to me for guidance during her own turbulent middle school years. We were both in a state of emotional exhaustion before the pandemic, so being together 24/7 has not brought us rest. I cannot get through a single day without calling on God to pour grace into me. I need grace to be doled out, grace to be handed back to me, grace to be granted during the many phone calls from my parents, grace to my friends who need me while they work with kids at home, grace to my husband while he handles a very stressful job during these unprecedented times, grace to neighbors I simply adore, and neighbors I secretly wish would place a “for sale” sign in their yards, and certainly grace to my children, who are doing their best and their worst, all in close proximity for my parenting enjoyment. ZPC Friends! That’s a lot of grace! 

But every day, for at least a moment or two, I lose my temper, and I fall short. Don’t you feel that “whoosh!” sensation when it happens? I have a large canvas in my kitchen which reads, “Just Enough Grace For Today,” so in those moments, I turn to that painting, and I try to imagine God standing behind me. I imagine God saying, “I forgive you. I forgave you as a messy 7th grader, and I forgive you now. I accept all these parts of you, and I love you. Please share that love with those right in front of you.” 

While we wait for this pandemic to end, we can ask for grace. We can refill the grace tank by simply asking those around us to forgive us for falling short, and restart the day. In so doing, we invite God into our homes, and keep him near during this season of waiting. 

ACTIVITY

Create an imaginary restart button in your home. In a moment of lost grace, stop, gather those around you, ask for forgiveness, and then place out your hand and say, “I’d like a chance to restart the day. No repercussions to anyone. Let’s just try again. Place your hands on mine. 1-2-3, RESTART THE DAY!” 
Let your family know anyone is allowed to back their way out of a corner by saying, “I’d like a restart.” Keep it simple. The words “I’m sorry” are very hard, and may not come at the first restart. After you’ve said “I’m sorry” a few times, the kids will eventually follow.
A “whoosh” will follow, but it will be the good kind. It’s grace raining down, and shame washing away. Praise be to God for granting us grace while we wait for him! 

PRAYER

Dear God,
We are exhausted, frightened, and worried you have left us here on this tired planet. Our tempers are short at times, long at others, but often mismatched with those inside our homes. We are living on teeter-totters, trying to find our way in the dark. Show us you are here in the midst of this chaos. Show us what you wish for us to learn from this tragedy. Forgive us our shortcomings, and help us ask for forgiveness when we fall short of your glory. But mostly God, we just ask you to bring an end to this pandemic. You alone are sovereign.
Amen.

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