Devotional 2 for the Storms of Life

Romans 6:1-4
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not now that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
We all make mistakes
It doesn’t take a storm of life for us to make a mistake
But it does seem in the midst of a storm it is easier to make a mistake
And those mistakes seem bigger, worse, than just a “typical mistake”
I made a mistake.
The worst mistake of my life
During the worst storm of my life
A year after Rick died, I chose to go to Kentucky
Intentions were to only be there for 6 weeks 
But those 6 weeks turned into 3 years 7 months and 18 days
Now that I have been rescued and returned to Texas, 
I find myself gravitating to movies, shows, and stories about people who made grave mistakes and have come back from those mistakes
I pray every day to take another step away from my mistakes
Reminding myself that God has forgiven me, and that I am not greater than Him - so I confess forgiveness to myself
Many years ago, God showed something to Rick and I about forgiveness.
It’s a lot like getting grungy with working, you know when you are sweaty, stinky, grimy and just plain dirty
You come in, strip off, and step into a shower 
Oh how good that water feels, and how sweet the soap and shampoo feels
You lather up and then just relax, letting the water wash it all away, take it down the drain
You don’t argue with the soap and water
You don’t fight against it
You don’t try and hold onto the grime because you aren’t worthy of being clean
Yet ... 
How many times do we do just that with God and His gracious forgiveness?
We hold onto our mistakes, our failures, our sin - 
Fighting against His grace and forgiveness 
Because we aren’t worthy to be clean.
Just let it go
Easier said than done I am finding out
The ghosts of those 3+ years haunt me ... no! Torment me! 
I think of all that I missed with my children and grandchildren
I think of all that I missed with my sister now gone
I think of not being here with family when other family died
I think of all the advice, wisdom, and counsel, I received telling me to not go, to not stay ... and how I dismissed all of those words
God, forgive me of my sin! 
God, forgive me of my grave mistakes! 
And help me to forgive myself
May others forgive me in time. 
I do not have all the answers to my life yet 
But I know God is working in me, and perhaps even thru me at times
Life is hard - 
And it’s more harder when you’re stupid
I was stupid
I pray to never fall stupid again. 
Romans 6:1-4
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not now that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
*Grace:
- favor
- goodwill
- forgiveness
- the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God
- the love & mercy given to us by God, because God desires us to have it, not because we deserve it, nor have we earned it
*Abound:
- to be well supplied
- to be plentiful
*As a widow, the words death and burial have taken on new meaning. Deeper truths. As in “not coming back” 
*Newness:
- having , but lately been brought into being
- fresh
- things not existed, seen or known, before
- something new that has an unexpected quality
*Life:
- come to consciousness
- to become vigorous

​**Also found on my blog spot @ https://stormsoflifedevotional.blogspot.com/