As we draw near to the end of our Blog Party,
Nancy Kay Grace Joins us to share about Unexpected Events.
And to giveaway a copy of Grace Impact.
Unexpected events can become the best memories with the greatest impact.
As a young pastor’s wife, I decided to host a Christmas open house for our church members. We lived in a small parsonage in a rural community of about four hundred people in the cornfields of central Illinois.
The date for the open house was set for December 24, the Sunday before Christmas. The year was 1978.
I envisioned trays of decorated Christmas cookies on a lovely red tablecloth with candles and greenery as the centerpiece.
Back then I didn’t plan far in advance. On December 23rd I started baking. Rolling out the cookie dough frustrated me as it stuck to the rolling pin or table. I’d pick up a wad of dough and throw it down on the table in determination to conquer my Christmas cookie project. Soon I was crying from weary arms and puffy feet. Since I was also more than eight months pregnant it required me to stretch forward from my swollen abdomen to roll to dough. My due date was January 7.
I finally gave up weary for sleep in the wee hours of the night.
Early the next morning, my life changed. The frustration of the cookie dough must have stirred the beginning of labor. Soon we headed to the hospital, forgoing the morning church service and the afternoon open house.
This was not my plan for December 24th. Instead of hosting people for cookies, I cradled my newborn son who had arrived two weeks early.
That night in my comfortable hospital room I thought of Mary giving birth to Jesus in a dirty stable. Christmas music played through the halls, not the bleating of animals in a barn. The sounds of “Silent Night” floated through the air. Gentle tears trailed down my cheeks as I beheld the wonder of God’s grace at Christmas.
God’s grace was revealed through the birth of Jesus to a broken, hurting world. He orchestrated history, prophecy, and the sharing of our humanity to bring us the gift of redemption. In an unexpected event, God came near as a baby with the name Immanuel, which means “God with us.” This is the grace impact, which is available for all to receive.
Since that year, anytime I hear “Silent Night” I get misty eyed, remembering the mother and Child of Christmas and the unexpected event that changed my life.
Do you have a Christmas song that stirs memories?
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Chapter after chapter, verse after verse, the Bible shows a loving heavenly Father lavishing His grace on us through His son. In her book, The Grace Impact, author Nancy Kay Grace gives us a closer glimpse of God’s character. In all things at all times, His grace covers every detail of life, not just the good things, but the difficult, sad and complicated things. That knowledge can give us the ability to walk confidently through life knowing God is with us every step of the way.
Nancy Kay Grace is a speaker and award-winning author of The Grace Impact. She has had numerous magazine articles published, stories in the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and several devotional compilations (including Abba’s Promise). She is the host of Living Life Unedited, an Internet radio show on the Christian Women Affiliate network.
Nancy is married to Rick, who is a pastor in Springdale, Arkansas. They have 2 married children and 5 grandchildren.
Connect with Nancy
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The song O Holy Night brings back many memories. I always enjoyed playing it on the piano, since the music is so beautiful. So it became very familiar to me. Then my brother, who is an opera singer, sang it one Christmas. It then became one of my favorite Christmas songs. Whenever I hear someone sing t, I think of my brother, and that brings back many wonderful memories.
O Holy Night is one of my favorites!
Silent Night reminds me of singing it at school and church when I was a child.