It’s my delight to introduce one of the sweetest women I know. Meet Jeannie Waters. I love this woman so much! She’s the gift of biblical encouragement, wrapped in a story, tied up with a hug.

Jeannie’s a gifted writer (as you’ll see) and a wise believer. Her first book, A Place at His Table, released this month to my great delight. She’s sharing some of her wit and wisdom with us in a chapter from her book. If you love it, which I know you will, be sure to click on the link below to buy a copy for yourself (and one to give a friend).

The Gift of God’s Grace

My body jolted from the head-on collision. Distracted by thoughts of my mom’s recent diagnosis, I’d exited the interstate and turned the wrong way onto a one-way street.

“God, please help me,” I prayed as steam erupted from my crumpled car. “Look what I did. Please let the other driver be okay. Oh, Father, please help us.”

I released the breath I’d been holding when I saw the other driver exit his car and walk toward me. “Are you okay?” I sputtered through my car window while I fumbled for my cell phone to call Ray, my husband. “I drove the wrong way. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”

The kind man smiled. “I’m fine. I’m glad you weren’t hurt.” 

We had escaped unscathed, and the man I hit responded with grace instead of a barrage of angry accusations.

“Thank You, Father,” I whispered under my breath. Moments after I climbed from the car on wobbly legs, Ray arrived.

He hugged me, and a geyser of tears erupted from my pool of relief and regret. As we drove to the hospital in a second attempt to visit my mother, he patted my shoulder and listened to my play-by-play account of the accident.

“We all make mistakes, Jeannie,” he said.

It wasn’t until we joined my brother, Ed, and his wife, Suzanne, at a hospital cafeteria table that I inhaled my first deep, post-accident breath. “It was my fault,” I said. “I can’t believe I did that. That man could have been seriously injured, but he was so kind.”

Ed spoke words that soothed my soul. “You were wrong. You caused the accident, but it wasn’t intentional. You can buy a new car, but I can’t get another sister. I’m thankful you’re okay.” My brother’s words assured me that although I’d broken a traffic law, no one condemned me. Instead, everyone involved had extended grace.

Suzanne echoed his affirmation. “Jeannie, we’re just thankful no one was hurt. You’re much more important to us than a car.” More grace.

I’m grateful God provides grace as a gift to His children. Sometimes it comes straight from His heart to ours. Other times He uses kind people like Ray, the other driver, or my brother and sister-in-law to deliver it.

In the book of Joshua, as the Israelites stood poised to conquer the city of Jericho, God extended grace to one faith-filled woman and her family.

Rahab, like the other residents of Jericho, deserved God’s judgment. She had worshiped the false gods of her countrymen and lived as a prostitute. Yet her heart quickened when she heard of the miracles the God of the Israelites had done. When three Israelite spies appeared at her doorstep, she pled her case.

“Please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death” (Joshua 2:12-13). *

In an outpouring of grace that came straight from God, the spies assured her they would spare hers and her family’s lives. “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you” (v. 14).

Rahab didn’t deserve such grace. Neither did I when I crashed my car into that poor unsuspecting man’s vehicle. Which is the whole point of grace. If we could earn it or deserve it, it wouldn’t be grace.

The psalmist’s description of God’s character tells us this gift originates in the heart of our heavenly Father. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8). Amazed by God’s grace and the countless times other people have extended it to us, we long to share this blessing.

When I remember those awful moments after my accident, and, on a much more serious scale, think about Rahab the prostitute, I marvel anew at the grace God freely gives His children. This knowledge makes me want to be a grace bearer too.

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Psalm 103:8

Let’s Pray

Thank you, Father, for undeserved favor. Open my eyes to opportunities to extend Your grace to others with my words and actions. In Your gracious name, I pray. Amen.

Embracing the Gift

What’s the most recent evidence of God’s favor in your life? Offer a prayer of gratitude for this blessing. Thank Him for the ways family, friends, or strangers have extended grace to you.

Sharing the Gift

Consider choosing one of the examples below or follow through on your own ideas for passing along the blessing of grace.

-Speak words of gratitude to store clerks and restaurant servers, even if they make mistakes.

-Withhold unkind responses when someone speaks or acts unkindly.

-Contribute to a stranger’s needs by donating food, clothing, and other necessities or volunteer for a ministry your church supports.

-Roll the trash container to the street or run an errand during inclement weather for an elderly neighbor.

-Share the way God’s grace blesses you with someone who may not know Christ or with a fellow believer who needs encouragement.

Table Tip

A GRACE MEAL

Thank God for grace and His blessings we can’t secure for ourselves. Extend a dinner invitation to someone who may be unable to reciprocate. Consider a single mom, widow or widower, a person who is physicallyunable to cook or a family who would enjoy a meal around your table.

*Scripture verses are taken from the ESV. 

About Jeannie

Southern author, speaker, and storyteller Jeannie Waters shares a homespun mix of biblical truth and heart-hugging encouragement. An award-winning writer, she helps readers embrace God’s Word and share His blessings with others across the table. Jeannie and her husband of more than fifty years live in an historic Georgia city and enjoy five grandchildren.

Jeannie combines her love for God and people in A Place at His Table: God’s Daily Gifts to Satisfy Your Heart, a 40-day devotional filled with memorable table stories, biblical principles about God’s blessings, and practical Table Tips. She encourages readers and those she meets: “Instead of allowing fear, doubt, and worry to sabotage your peace, pull up a chair to God’s table and find His heart-satisfying gifts.”

Visit Jeannie at www.JeannieWaters.com  where she shares her love for Jesus and ideas for “Connecting with God and Each Other.” Find her on social media @jeanniewaters44.

Here’s a link to purchase Jeannie’s lovely book: https://amzn.to/460yKXq