Abandoned to Grace
"There are few people who realize what God would make of them if they abandoned themselves to his Hands, and let themselves be formed by His grace." --St. Ignatius
Confession Time: I am a What Not To Wear junkie. That's right, I watch the TLC program What Not To Wear. Why? I think it has something to do with the above quote from St. Ignatius.
On the show, people have to give themselves over to Clinton Kelly and Stacy London and the "rules" for their new wardrobe. The old clothes are questioned, laughed at, and eventually tossed out and forgotten. The "rules" are so often met with resistance, which provides tension, which leads to growth, which leads to tears, which makes good television. In the end, though, almost everyone on the show can't believe how good they are able to make themselves look, no matter what their body style, height, weight or whatever.
But, the whole show starts with a confrontation where Clinton and Stacy ask the person to give themselves over to the two of them "heart and soul" in order to get this new wardrobe. The contestant has to give these two fashionistas free reign to do what THEY think is best for the contestant and, in so doing, the contestants can hardly recognize themselves.
So many of us have been changed by God's grace. The freedom that comes from knowing that our sins are forgiven and we are free is revolutionary to say the least. Yet, God wants to do so much more for us through the power of His grace and we are hesitant to give ourselves over to Him "heart and soul" because we don't want to be a pastor, nun, or work for the Church. Obviously, that's what God would make us if we turned ourselves over to Him.
But what if you could become more of yourself? What if He could show you how to hide your flaws, like the right clothes hide imperfections in What Not To Wear? I think most of us would love to be more of ourselves and God's grace is a path to that end.
Confession Time: I am a What Not To Wear junkie. That's right, I watch the TLC program What Not To Wear. Why? I think it has something to do with the above quote from St. Ignatius.
On the show, people have to give themselves over to Clinton Kelly and Stacy London and the "rules" for their new wardrobe. The old clothes are questioned, laughed at, and eventually tossed out and forgotten. The "rules" are so often met with resistance, which provides tension, which leads to growth, which leads to tears, which makes good television. In the end, though, almost everyone on the show can't believe how good they are able to make themselves look, no matter what their body style, height, weight or whatever.
But, the whole show starts with a confrontation where Clinton and Stacy ask the person to give themselves over to the two of them "heart and soul" in order to get this new wardrobe. The contestant has to give these two fashionistas free reign to do what THEY think is best for the contestant and, in so doing, the contestants can hardly recognize themselves.
So many of us have been changed by God's grace. The freedom that comes from knowing that our sins are forgiven and we are free is revolutionary to say the least. Yet, God wants to do so much more for us through the power of His grace and we are hesitant to give ourselves over to Him "heart and soul" because we don't want to be a pastor, nun, or work for the Church. Obviously, that's what God would make us if we turned ourselves over to Him.
But what if you could become more of yourself? What if He could show you how to hide your flaws, like the right clothes hide imperfections in What Not To Wear? I think most of us would love to be more of ourselves and God's grace is a path to that end.
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