God takes suffering and brings from it incredible beauty, strength, resolve, and wonder. James Cone knew this. Sojourner Truth knew this. Harriet Tubman knew this. We all know this. It is written within us (cf Genesis 1:27). We have no excuse but to be heroes.

The image of God within us may be telling us we can be a whole lot more than we are.

In what ways do you allow the past to determine your thoughts and actions?

There is no better experience than to stand beside God as some ugliness within us falls away.

What role do your doubts and accusations play? Do they tend to stall your growth?

Let’s be the heroes God is expecting us to make use of God’s grace to be!

What do we need to help us see the movements of God?

How many things in our lives, small and large, have the grace of God wound about them?

Until we learn how to check these triggers as adults, these feelings rushing back in at once can result in our overreacting to what is in actuality a constructive criticism or a simple question.

You see, if God is doing the calling, God supplies what we need to answer. The grace is there. Our part is to accept it.

I don’t know why we suffer so much, but I’ve learned that answer can wait. We cannot afford to miss what God can and does do in the midst of our suffering.

Grace isn’t what we think it is.