Grace is when God gives us that which we don’t deserve, mercy is when He spares us the consequences we surely do, and a blessing is when He is generous on both fronts.

There are probably just as many stories about someone doing the right thing and winning as there are about someone doing the right thing yet losing. Both stories are inspiring not for their outcomes but for their decisions to deliberately do what is right, regardless the outcome. When we do the right things the outcomes cease being the climax, focus, meaning or purpose of the story but the doing of the right thing is itself the sole author of the inspiration. Outcomes are too often overrated, mostly by those who don’t live by faith and in so doing, learning nothing about having joy in endings unknown.

Spiders, clown faces,
And bridges collapsing.
Burglars who break in on you
While you’re napping.
Slivers and big dogs who
Foam at the mouth,
These fears turn all my anxieties south.

3am, longing out the window at the quiet darkness, a cloudy sky and 35 degrees, I said “It’s just you and me, God. Everyone’s asleep. Nobody else needs to see if you just let a few wintry snowflakes drop down right here, right now, just for me.” And at that very moment, I looked up to hear the ice maker drop its load in the freezer, and that was a good enough answer to prayer for a Vegas boy.

3am, longing out the window at the quiet darkness, a cloudy sky and 33 degrees, I said “It’s just you and me, God. Everyone’s asleep. Nobody else needs to see if you just let a few wintry snowflakes drop down right here, right now, just for me.” And at that very moment, I looked up to hear the ice maker drop its load in the freezer, and that was a good enough answer to prayer for a Vegas boy.