Her name was, interestingly enough, Grace. (She mentioned her last name, but it didn't stick with me.)
Grace showed up near the end of the church-wide pool party on Sunday night. I'd never laid eyes on her before, but, in a church our size, that's not unusual. This was different though. Grace was different. Wearing lots of black clothing and looking like she applied her day's eye liner without a mirror....Grace looked different. Everyone there noticed that she stuck out like a sore thumb.
In my daily devotion yesterday, I read John 13:34-35. Meeting Grace the night before resonated within me as I read the words of Jesus.
"A new command I give you..."
An order. From Jesus. Something important to follow no doubt.
"....Love one another."
Oh boy. Grace. Grace. The one with black clothes, black make-up, and the wicca shirt. 16 years old and probably experienced in way more than our 16 yr. old youth girls. Those eyes were haunting. They were covered in those fake "cat-like" contacts.
"As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
Who has loved me? Jesus is speaking here to his disciples. Is He also speaking to me? Does it apply to me? I believe it does. What about girls like Grace?
"By this all men will know that you're my disciples, if you love one another."
Yeah, even the "Grace's" of the world. Grace's emblems and shocking contacts reveal and reflect way larger issues I suspect. Like what though? What's behind the wiccan symbols...the contacts...the make-up?
Voids. We all have them, and we must fill them with good things. Not so we can be so stinking good all the time, but, so we can be more like Jesus. We want the good things because we know we have a huge God who gave His Son so we might have life. Life. (Jn. 10:10) This weekend Travis Cottrell mentioned a shirt he saw recently. It said, "Try Living." I want that shirt because I need reminders daily about what God wants for me. That He has a plan...and there's a Romans 8:28 for me. I know that because I've seen it in my life. Praise God.
We are called to love one another. Even those who are different from we are. Shoot, we're pretty weird to them if you think about it.
I pray for Grace today. I pray for grace today.
Marcy
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Grace at the pool
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4 comments:
hey, great blog post. I didn't see Grace but I'm glad she stopped by. Did you talk to her? I was to focused on diving off the diving board. Thanks for the great blog post, keep em comming! talk to you soon!
that's a great post, marcy! lots to be thinking about there...
Great post Marcy.. You ever thought of writing?
yay! found you! i was so disappointed that my name wasn't chosen as your top 4 to have coffee with. lol. we need to catch up- miss ya. annie
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