You may have seen the acronym GRACE as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is also God’s unmerited favor, or God doing for us what we cannot.

I find grace overflowing with God’s love, joy, peace, blessings, mercy, power, provision, protection, and wisdom. Thank You, Jesus!

Where did I find God’s love and favor—His abundant grace—this week?!

This week was odd in that I was sick for most of it!! I started to feel “off” on our way back home from vacation (Saturday). On Sunday, I woke up with a sore throat and headache. We stayed home from church and tried to rest.

On Monday, I still didn’t feel well, so I missed work. I went to the walk-in clinic, and they ran some tests, which all came back negative. That means I don’t have Strep, RSV, COVID, or Influenza A/B. Whew! 

The next two days, I went to work. I was still not feeling 100%, but I was comparatively better. On Wednesday, I started to lose my voice while teaching a class. Soon, I developed a cough that perpetuated overnight.

One positive aspect of going to work this week was noticing the gorgeous peonies back in the healing garden. I intentionally park across the street so I can walk through there twice a day and notice all of God’s handiwork!

Thursday, I still felt poorly with a froggy voice and cough (by this time, it was my asthma flaring up). So, I called in sick and mostly stayed on the couch. I used a blend of allergy and cold medications, along with my inhaler, some Chloroseptic, and Vick’s Vapo Rub. To kill germs, I managed to wipe down a few main surfaces but otherwise rested.

On Friday, I made it to work for my usual half-day. I prayed about what to do—see my patients or cancel and do paperwork. The more talking I did, the worse my voice sounded. Strangely, each of my three patients was very understanding. One didn’t care how much I coughed (he also had a cough), another said he also was hoarse, and the other hardly noticed because he was hard of hearing. God is so funny!

Lydia had a really exciting week, however! She had a blast volunteering at a friend’s church during VBS. They helped with some of the art projects. Later in the week, they had a sleepover, which also happened to be helpful in my recovery.

Today, I am intentionally resting after a long week. 🙂

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These are only a few examples, but God’s grace never runs out!

There’s grace in every situation—we just need to look for it. God promises if we seek Him, we will find Him (see Jeremiah 29:13)!