Embrace Grace

An
Open
Door

See, I have placed
before you
an open door
that no one can shut.
Revelation 3:8

I’ve been waiting for you. Holding this good news close to my heart, longing to share it.
     And now here you are, standing on the threshold.
     To say that I’m glad to see you is a major understatement. Thrilled is more like it. Curb my enthusiasm? No way. Not when it’s you.
     There are a few things about you that I don’t know: your age, your appearance, your occupation. Facts that describe you but don’t define you and have little bearing here.
     There are also things about you that I do know because we share them: the need to be loved unconditionally, the desire to live a life that truly matters, the longing to shed a tightly woven mantle of guilt.
     Or am I the only woman who wears past failures and present mistakes like an old wool coat, scratchy and uncomfortable, chafing the skin around my neck?
     Ah. You, too.
     Sadly, heavy overcoats get in the way of a good hug. Our arms are too stiff, our bodies too padded. No one can sense our warmth through the thick fabric.
     In the same way, remorse and shame insulate us. And isolate us.
     If only we could toss those miserable garments in some dark closet and tiptoe away. If only the ratty things didn’t feel so cozy and familiar. If only we could shake off the conviction that we need to wear our guilt—deserve to wear it, must wear it—whatever the season.
     Maybe it’s time to release that burden and lift our arms toward the One who loves us most.
     That’s what this visit is all about: slipping off the old and putting on the new. Letting go of the past and embracing freedom with our whole hearts.
     Come inside where it’s warm, beloved.
     Let me help you with your coat.

Hardcover • 160 pages • Nonfiction • WaterBrook Press • September 19, 2006
ISBN 1-4000-7218-2