GRACE WITHERS

It wasn't a booming, "Thus saith the LORD," but there was a still small voice saying, "stop."

I had commuted past the cemetery dozens of times in the previous few months. Located on a tree skirted nub overlooking a farm pond, it seemed like an idyllic final resting place.

Strolling the tiny cemetery, communing with God, I read each grave marker. Still no distinct sense of why my journey was interrupted. So I concluded God was offering me a respite from my always-on-the-go schedule. The weather was absolutely perfect; I felt at peace. I was thankful for the break.

Wait. I missed four grave stones in the far corner.

When I looked down on the second one, my heart started beating a little faster. The tombstone's "1919-1919" etching spoke of anguished tears cried on the spot I stood. Is there any greater pain than losing a baby? Yet, God used her to give me a message.

Her name: Grace Withers.

"God, You're right, grace withers." We let Your grace, your divine influence on our hearts; slip, slide, and totally exit our lives.

An antidote to our grace withering is grace growing.

One of Jesus' closest disciples, Peter, wrote a letter to struggling Christians of his era. He knowingly challenged, "Grow in grace."

My friend Robert, who was a new Christian, gave me his plucked-out-of-the-dictionary, untheological definition of Biblical grace. "Smooth refined motion."

Pretty good Robert. Can I add? Let us grow in smooth refined motion-- thoughts, words, and deeds.