2 Corinthians 12:9 My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
There is one dresser drawer I’ve been avoiding. I’ve avoided it for 4 years. Along the way I have added to it. I’ve even opened it and looked at a couple things, but I always close it again. I walk away and try to forget about it. But I walk by this drawer – every day. And I knew it was time to face the contents.
It’s been 4 years since my husband died after a brave battle with cancer. It’s his drawer. It contains personal things – things I’m not sure what to do with or where they should go.
Even through I’ve cleaned out so much of my husband’s things and accomplished a lot over the years, I feel weak when it comes to the drawer. It’s as if the drawer is the last piece of my husband. If I go through it and place items in a special box, there’s a finality to it. It’s like I’m deleting a person. How could his life come down to one drawer?
But I knew today was the day. So I grabbed another cup of coffee while I gathered courage to face the drawer.
The thing is, once I opened the drawer and began emptying it, it wasn’t as hard as I imagined. Items seemed to fall into one category or another. And the really tough things when grouped together and placed in a small box of remembrance made me smile. It was God’s grace and timing.
This task seemed monumental. My heart simply couldn’t face it. God knew that. He could see that particular day on the time line of my life and knew it would be the day my heart and God’s grace would intersect.
On that day of victory, I saw very clearly how God’s timing is perfect. I saw how in my weakness, His power was perfect.
In my life I tend to push myself to do more. I struggle to measure up and be the perfect widow. Honestly, there is no such thing. But I try anyway.
The drawer situation taught me not only about God’s grace and His perfect timing. It taught me that I strive too much for no reason. I look horizontally when I should look vertically.
Looking back on the whole drawer project, I’m glad it happened, tears and all. I’m choosing to make it a stone of remembrance. That stone reminds me God loves me, He’s kind, He’s faithful and His grace is more than sufficient when I need Him most.