The winner of our January giveaway, He Walks With Me by Carol Kent, is Stacy E of Fayetteville, GA. Congratulations!
When I was a kid, my family occasionally traveled from our farm in northern Illinois to my Uncle Ed’s home near Keokuk, Iowa, not far from the Mississippi River.
The best part of our visit was when our cousins would take us geode-hunting along the train tracks behind their home.
I didn’t know how to tell a geode from an ordinary rock, but my cousin Mark had learned to spot these hidden gems. We’d take our cache back to their garage, and with a few careful taps, we discovered the treasure within the dark confines of the rock—sparkling quartz crystals in white, blue, yellow or the highly prized amethyst.
It took the blow of a hammer to reveal what was within.
When you’re in the midst of dealing with crisis or chaos, is it comforting when a friend soothingly reassures you that “God will never give you more than you can handle”? After all, it says this in Scripture, right?
Nope. Many of you can attest to having lived through traumatic situations that took every ounce of strength that you possessed, and it still wasn’t enough. Some of you are there right now—weary, anxious, tired of fighting.
Just plain tired.
Well-meaning friends try to console you by saying God will never give you more than you can handle, but you know better. You reached the end of your rope so long ago that you can’t even remember the feel of the frayed fiber beneath your fingertips.
In his recent sermon series “The Bible Doesn’t Say That,” my pastor reflected on the origin of that phrase. Scripture does promise us that when temptation comes our way, God will always provide a way out so that we can stand up under it (1 Cor.10:13). Yet when it comes to life-trauma, He knows that the weight of human suffering is often too much for us to bear.
But it’s not too much for Him. That’s where grace—marvelous, amazing grace—shows up.
“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 2 Cor. 12:9 NLT
We are not enough. Grace is.
Our strength is not sufficient. His is.
Our abilities are bound by human limitations. His power has no boundaries. It flows in and through every weakness offered up to him.
As for that difficult situation that’s shredding your soul and keeping you up at night? The one that makes you feel invisible, just one more ordinary person whose pain goes unnoticed by most?
It’s been a blow, yes—perhaps one right after the other. But nothing can reach you that doesn’t first pass through nail-scarred hands, hands cupped with grace waiting to spill over into your life.
And do you know what He sees when your heart breaks wide open?
Beauty. Light. Great worth.
Treasure.
“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” 2 Cor. 4:7
We are not just jars of clay, friends. We are geodes.
My friend Jan Loyd explains it this way.
“When a geode is cracked open. . . glory bursts forth. A shining treasure of crystals remains hidden in that ordinary rock until cracked open by a blow. Without the trauma, the rock will stay…obscure and unrevealed.” - Jan Loyd, Glory in Disguise: Seeing God in our Every Day
Whatever is wielding the hammer right now in this cold, hard month, you might be close to your breaking point.
But you are not alone. Not forgotten. And certainly not ordinary.
I see God and I see glory. In you.
With so much love,
Maggie
IT’S YOUR TURN! Is there an area in your life that currently feels like too much to handle with the present strength you’ve got? If you are able, please share below so we can be praying for you. And if you've come through a difficult season, we'll rejoice with you!
Recommended Reading: Glory in Disguise: Seeing God in our Every Day, by Jan Loyd (c) 2023