My grace deck

We built out our deck a couple of years ago. Made it really big. We got it done in time for the two summer weddings we had at our house. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Its size isn't the problem, it's the amount of frustration and time and labour and problem- solving we've had to put into it. I called it "my deck from hell" because of all the "what could go wrong, went wrong" problems we've experienced.

Two summers later - that would be now - we've had to do a "re and re" (as my husband calls it) on our deck. Re and re means remove and replace. So here we were this summer with this long drawn out re and re which was estimated to be a two day project. At the peak of the problem... let me rephrase that... at one of the key problems, when I was talking about my deck from hell... the Lord spoke to me. I had this conviction that it's all about grace. It's about extending grace, receiving grace and trusting in God's grace. So at that point in time, I began to refer to my deck as my grace deck. Am I ever glad I changed the name to my grace deck! This refocusing would prove to carry me through more difficulties.

This week was finally the week that we were able to get beyond the first re to the second re. Replacing. Wednesday night I flopped into bed exhausted after working the previous day, and all that day from 7:30 until midnight. I needed some encouragement. The "random" verse I read in a book I flipped open was
James 1:2-4
"Consider it a sheer gift, friends (Amity), when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colours. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. So let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."

As I was falling asleep and throughout the night, the Lord kept on saying to me,
"My grace is sufficient for you."
The song,
"Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough for me" also kept going through my mind.

Thursday morning was the ultimate test. My neck ached and underneath my fingernails were so sore from all the work, that I could barely move my fingers and couldn't bear to think we were going at it again. And we were only a third of the way through! (Maybe the size of the deck is one of the problems!)

Then I read Sweet Freedom's post. "Grace and Joy and Peace... who wants to live without it?" Did I ever need grace and joy and peace... especially that morning. We had arranged to begin working Thursday at 1 pm, so I had the morning to bawl my eyes out. I went for a walk with my mom, to loosen up a bit and to whine and cry. I read the post and cried, and continued to cling to God's promise of His grace. And I made it through another 8 hours of intense work yesterday afternoon and evening.

I will continue to trust God for His grace as we're far from done with dealing with our deck. My grace deck is more than a future lovely addition to enjoy, but it's about learning about God's character - learning about God's grace.