Grace at Home No. 485

Hello, friends. How glad I am to greet you today. 

You might have noticed that I've been absent from these parts over the past couple of weeks.

If you can read the dates on these name tags, you'll know why I was absent. The first is dated October 9; the second, October 22. These are my visitor badges from the day my husband was admitted to the hospital and the day he was discharged. One day short of two weeks at Duke Hospital.

Some of you know that he was hospitalized back in September. This hospitalization was related to that same incident—only the situation was much worse. I'll spare you the details, but I want to say one thing: this might have ended very differently. If not for the grace of God, I would have lost my husband. 

These past few weeks have been really difficult, but the times when God protected and sustained Jack's life have been startlingly clear. I can't tell you how many times I've shuddered while thinking "What if we had. . . ?" I had to turn that thought onto its head and say, "Thank God" instead.

Friends, I can't explain to you how God works, but I can tell you with certainty that God DOES work. Our lives are full of tiny happenings that may seem insignificant to us—but taken together, they demonstrate the work of God. My friend Dallas Willard used to say "The hand of God is best seen in the rear-view mirror." Isn't that right? And once we catch a glimpse, how can we respond? For me the answer is found in the refrain of an old hymn:

Oh Savior, my Redeemer,

What can I but adore

And magnify and praise thee

And love thee evermore. (Frances R. Havergal)

I believe that God continually displays his love for all of us, which is why I am privileged to host the Grace at Home party, where we celebrate all the ways we make our homes and spheres of influence places of grace and beauty. It's my custom to feature posts from the previous week's party, but today I don't have any features to share. I'm sorry about that, but I'm so glad to welcome you today!

Here at the Grace at Home party, you can link up any post you've written that demonstrates how you're filling your space with truth, goodness, and beauty. I invite you to link posts about

• DIY projects
• decorating
• recipes
• hospitality
• homemaking tips
• parenting
• marriage
• faith
• self-care
• soul care

Whatever you do to make your home or sphere of influence a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it. Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page. Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter