Kelly - Ephesians 2

I've always struggled a bit with passages like this one....passages that talk about the difference between how the people were and how they are now in Christ.

The problem is that I am a "cradle Christian" - and on top of that, one who really hasn't had a big time away from the church. As a teenager I was active not only in my local youth group, but on the planning committee for youth events in our tri-state region. At 18 I was the co-chair of an event that hosted 1150 youth in Estes Park, CO. When I was in college, I attended the Adult Bible studies. When I was 20, I began working as a youth minister. My 21st birthday celebration was tempered by the fact that I was in charge of the Easter Sunrise service the next morning. By 24 I had finished my 3rd year of seminary....you get the idea.

So what am I to do with verses like these that remind me to be thankful for God's grace by comparing it to what my life was like beforehand? It is like being thankful for air or water - which I am...but which I have never been without.

Yesterday was the summer solstice - and I've got to admit that since moving to New England, that means more to me than it ever has before. I understand why so many cultures celebrate the solstice----the dark is hard. I struggle big-time through the winter darkness, making very deliberate efforts to keep depression at bay. I am truly thankful for the sunshine! But it is so much easier to understand that because I have come to know what it is to live without it.

I'm not suggesting that I need to intentionally move away from God in order to truly understand how good I have it in God's grace. But the truth is my faith journey is very different from the one in these scriptures. And when people talk about their "I once was lost but now am found" moments, I can think of times in my life when I wandered a bit...but I must admit to having always known of God's grace and presence in my life. And I have come to breath God's grace like air, but the truth is I don't really know how good I have it.