Just Enough for Today

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

God gives us exactly what we need for each moment – never too much, never too little. “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” God’s grace is enough to meet the needs of any situation – it is sufficient.

As a reflection of God’s character to be our strength and help in time of need, so is Catholic Charities to the families in our communities. Catholic Charities is there in times of great weakness for people like Linda, who saw her comfortable life turn completely upside down.
 

When Linda’s oldest daughter lost her job and had nowhere to go, she brought her two children with her to live with Linda. Just months later, Linda’s younger daughter, who was living in New York and battling a drug addiction, was killed in a car accident leaving behind two young children of her own with no one to care for them. Wanting to care for her other two grandchildren, Linda brought them to Indianapolis to live with her.

While working as hard she could to make ends meet, and still trying to take classes to pursue her dream of being a chef, tragedy struck again. Linda’s oldest daughter passed away, leaving her to care for four grandchildren alone. Desperate for assistance, Linda came to the Catholic Charities Crisis Office.

Catholic Charities Crisis Office, in conjunction with school social workers and other agencies, helped Linda to occasionally pay for utilities, provided food and clothing, and found counseling and mentoring programs for her grandsons. 

On Linda’s most recent visit, she was so very proud of her grandsons’ progress in school and let us knows that she will be graduating from chef’s school this May. Though Linda continues to need occasional assistance, her situation is improving and she credits this to the help and hope she has received from the Crisis Office.

God has designed us to need Him moment by moment. The more we realize we need his grace – the more we will realize how sufficient God’s grace truly is. With humble hearts, as we come before Him and ask, He is faithful to give. He delights to rescue and sustain us each day.

In your weakness, will you allow God’s grace to be your strength today? He has just enough.

Grace for Today…and Tomorrow

“God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.” – C.S. Lewis

God uses situations and circumstances to provide and protect us for a future only He can see. His grace walks beside us and goes ahead of us.

Grace walks beside us in the tough and challenging times. It is there for us in that very moment we need it, when we’re not strong enough to go on, it carries us. God gives us His grace for the daily journey we walk. We don’t deserve it, but He gives it. Grace works to intimately care for each of our daily needs.

Grace also goes ahead of us, preparing for a future only God can see. God’s grace protects us, arming us now for the battles ahead. He allows us to journey through challenging circumstances to make us stronger for what He knows is ahead. He wraps us in His grace to protect and strengthen us – if we allow Him.

Grace begins with trusting God. Trusting Him to provide, lead, and sustain us. Grace comes from God’s immense love for us. So much love that He sent His only Son to die for our sins… and be raised to life to give us new life. He doesn’t charge us anything to receive his forgiveness and grace – and no amount of good works will earn it.

This is the grace we strive to extend to all those we serve day in and day out – a grace that provides help today, and creates hope for tomorrow. 

Do you want God’s grace? Just ask.

Do you know someone who needs to experience God’s grace? Extend it.

The Gift of Grace

Have you ever felt unworthy to be loved by our awesome Creator – that you weren’t good enough? Too many of us walk around believing this lie. We believe that we must be perfect and sinless in order to come before our holy Creator. But that simply isn’t true. Just look at the way God created…

“The beauty of a sunset is greater through the impurities and pollution in the air it reflects off of. A snowflake cannot exist without the impurities of dust and dirt. In order to make something beautiful God doesn’t need something perfect, pure or clean. From the wasted, broken, and worthless God creates beauty. If God cares enough to do this in creation, then He cares enough to do this to me!” 

God can and will use us, regardless of our own insecurities and struggles. We come to God broken, hurting, and sinful. In response, He offers us Himself – pure, holy, and righteous. He takes the ugliness that exists within us and washes us pure and clean – into something truly beautiful. That gift is called grace.
 

We must realize that God loves us in spite of our frailties and faults. We do not have to be perfect or “good enough” to be loved by God. He desires to take all our fears, insecurities, and struggles, especially the ones we think unforgivable or beyond help. Instead, He offers us love and grace – transforming us into something beautiful. All we have to do is accept it.
 

Many people live believing that grace is for everyone but them. The truth is that Christ died to rescue us all from the penalty of sin. He died so we could live with Him. He gave himself for us, not because we deserved it or had worked hard enough, but simply because He loves us. Grace is a gift that God wants to give you – will you accept it?