Card 5- Grace Given
Card #5
Grace Given
Fredericksburg, VA, USA
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– Ephesians 2:4-8
God’s grace is being shown and received daily by and through His people. I love seeing it. I love reading about it. Most of all, I love experiencing it.
Throughout mine and Heather’s lives God’s grace has been shown to us in profound ways. Last year, tragedy hit our family. Our first child, Grace Evangeline, passed away due to an umbilical cord accident inside the womb. She was full term. Heather has been telling the story of our daughter’s life on her blog. When we needed God’s grace to overwhelm us and comfort us, He provided. Hundreds of cards from friends, family, co-workers, and complete strangers poured in—comforting us with their words of love and grief. Our Bible study and members of our church organized a meal schedule and provided us with dinner for the first couple of weeks. One night, we arrived home to see an envelope on our doorstep. The envelope contained a substantial sum of money to help with the medical costs and the funeral and a loving note from anonymous people who allowed God to use them to show His grace.
I was finalizing the trailer for Grace Epidemic when Grace passed away. As I was seeking ways to be comforted, I added in the final frames to the trailer, “In honor and loving memory of my daughter Grace Evangeline Young.” This movement. This film. This outpouring of love and Grace is how my daughter lives today. Along Christ’s side, she is still touching people’s hearts and transforming lives through grace.
Since the Grace Epidemic began back on Easter, we have been praying for God to use us to show grace profoundly in someone’s life. To come along side them in a time of need and offer what little we have. I began getting anxious and impatient. I took a day off of work to go into the city in search of a situation where I could be used. No luck. But God had a plan. Heather and I began setting aside money every week to be used specifically for our grace gift. We continued to pray over our card that our heart and mind would be open to His purpose. God did have a purpose.
God laid a couple on our hearts. We gave this couple the money we have been designating for this purpose along with grace card #5. We know their need is for His glory and there is no greater purpose. We will continue to pray for this couple. (I will allow them to tell their story, if they’re inclined to)
We are excited to follow grace card #5’s trail of transforming lives and bring people closer to God through His grace.
-Jeffrey and Heather Young
