Grace Notes

Ever look at a piece of music & see those little bitty notes written in between the "big" notes? Those are "grace notes." You can play a piece of music without the grace notes, but it's so much richer with them. Life's that way too. Sometimes, the Lord adds some grace notes to our lives that we fail to notice. In my case, I usually fail to notice those grace notes. *sigh* So, I wanted to point out a couple He's added to our symphony recently.

1. A friend called over the weekend and offered his vehicle (much newer & nicer than ours), plus a gas card for this week's trip to Houston.

2. Another friend is continuing to let us stay in his place out in the Houston area. By the time we come back this weekend--our 3rd trip to Houston--we will have spent zero dollars on lodging.

It would be so easy to attribute these to just general kindness--and to be sure both of these folks are very kind!--but here's the thing. Neither offer was solicited by us; both were surprises. Grace notes, in other words.

Could God have not brought about these 2 grace notes (or any other grace notes for that matter)? Sure! Would we function without them? You bet. But oh my! How much richer life is with grace notes! Just as a symphony or jazz composition is much more full & satisfying with the grace notes played.

My challenge today is to pay attention to the details of life, and notice the grace notes God puts into your life's symphony. Just yesterday morning, for example, in a remarkable coincidence (not), James & I came out of church just as our friends Jason & Stephanie Weathers were coming out another nearby door. Thus, we had a delightful little visit there in the TBC parking lot. A grace note. Also, I had been pondering whether I'd be able to crank my mower after lung surgery; yesterday, a good friend said "I've been thinking; you don't need to worry about mowing your lawn after you get back. I'll come over & do it for you." A grace note (I had not mentioned my mower concern to him). Colleagues at work have gone way above & beyond "duty" as I've had to miss classes & meetings due to the myriad medical tests this Spring, and have offered to do so this summer as needed. Grace notes. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Notice your grace notes today, and make sure to thank the Composer for putting them there!

With love and hope--and thanksgiving for grace notes in my life,
Mike