Dogs, Attics, and God's Grace


Busy day around the old Grzywinski household today…

            First, Turk (my buddy, our awesome little Yorkie) got violently ill this morning and I had to take him to the vet.  Turns out he has pancreatitis.  He is going to be fine, but the poor little guy has to eat nothing but boiled chicken for a few days, and his birthday is tomorrow to boot!

            This kinda put a crimp in the day’s schedule.  We were planning on continuing the attic clean-out today, Saturday is my busy day (fine tuning Sunday service, printing bulletins, etc.), and there are always the day before fellowship Sunday things to do.  And, of course, everything needs to be done by kickoff tonight (Jets vs. Giants!!).

            There was a time that all of this would have made me super anxious.  I mean, talk-to-Daddy-at-your-own-risk-ultra-uber-special-kind-of-anxious (let’s see if my wife posts any comments about that).  But I am not today.  I am wallowing in God’s grace like a pig in stinky mud.

            When you realize the love that God has put in your heart for that little 12-pound dog as you pray over him… God’s grace.

            When you see your two youngest children pour their love out for the dog, for you, and for each other because the dog isn’t feeling well, you realize that you aren’t the only one in the house undeservedly blessed by the little things in life (literally, he is really small)… God’s grace.

            When your 9-year-old steps up and is Swiffering the kitchen floor because she knows everyone is going to have to chip in to get the Grzywinski household back on schedule and, for once, it shouldn’t be a mommy solo project to make that happen… God’s grace.

            When cleaning the attic in the middle of summer sounds like fun because you get to spend time talking to your wife about nothing in particular… God’s grace.

            When you get to do those Saturday type things – prepare the bulletin, run through your sermon, practice the worship songs – and you do it knowing that the real blessing is coming tomorrow morning… God’s grace.

            And when preparations are made for the Sunday that you look forward to all month because you can fellowship with the people you love the most, and you realize that there are so many blessings God gives you on a weekly basis, and you sit at your computer to do your weekly blog and all you can think about as your eyes fill up with tears of joy is God’s grace… well… God’s grace.

            It almost seems like it shouldn’t be news to me, but it feels like it is: my strength for every week is… God’s grace.

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