Grace, Spring and Friends...

Last night I was at Chapel at Bethel University in St. Paul and Jane Spriggs was speaking, she was the professor I had for Spiritual Formation class. She spoke on Signs of Spring – A Lenten Chapel and I was very happy that I went as it was good to see and talk with Jane again and her speak about spring, Lent and grace. She used the following during her talk and I really liked it and it fits in perfectly with A Cup of Grace:

A Spiritual Sign of Spring – Grace

“A blizzard of grace is hovering over us, blanketing our transgressions and hiding the ugliness we’re so ashamed of. Maybe it is not so much winter as spring. Grace is pushing shoots up, buds are swelling, joy is trying hard to bloom,”
-Small Surrenders, Emilie Griffin

Thinking about spring and grace reminded me of some of my friends who have been grace to me which Jane defined as, “…God’s love in action…” and I believe that fits with my friends and family whether they realize it or not. Also, I am reminded again of what Hemingway wrote about, “….friends that were as good as spring itself…” and that is how good friends feel, like a beautiful spring day, fresh with hope and possibility.

I was thinking this: Yes, Jesus saves. He is complete, all sufficient, God and Savior. Yet, you can be saved by another person; a person that Jesus moved to come into your life so as to serve his purposes and to bring life, salvation and hope to you. So, it is that Jesus is still the one that saves but he uses people to help one another along the perilous journey we are all on. We are part of a fellowship, friends that hold onto and hold up each other through the challenges and battles we all encounter from time to time. We also then celebrate, dance and sing with each other in the joy filled happy times and make each other smile so when we die there will be smile lines on our faces, traces, reminders of those that touched our souls along the journey.