Grace Upon Grace With Sophie HudsonSample

DAY 1

I have to tell y’all: observing the life of our seventeen-year-old son is fascinating. I talk to so many girls every day who are stressed or worried about different parts of their lives, but if I had to give one word to describe Alex’s general mood, it would be unbothered. 

Recently I overheard Alex and a friend talking about their favorite Mexican restaurant, and the friend said that the restaurant’s salsa is sometimes too spicy for her. Alex piped up right away to disagree, and after a little bit of back-and-forth about the merits of the salsa, Alex said, “Hey, if it’s not spicy, I’m not interested!” They laughed and moved on to a different (though equally riveting, I’m sure) topic, but I’ll have you know that I thought about Alex’s comment for the rest of the day.

Not just in terms of salsa, you understand.

So often, we want life to be exciting and adventurous (and yes, maybe even a tiny bit spicy). We push back against what seems ordinary or maybe even boring, and if we find ourselves in the same routine day after day, week after week, we wonder if we’ve gotten something wrong or missed some thrilling opportunity along the way.

I think that’s why Alex’s comment about the salsa got my attention. Because “spicy” is great and all, but a nonstop diet of it isn’t necessarily sustainable (I’m talking in terms of living, but that’s probably also true in terms of eating). Plus, when we’re forever focused on life being some endless, rip-roaring ride, we can miss the grace of simple, beautiful joys: a sunset, a lazy day with a friend, or a leisurely hike with the family. We’re not made to live on full blast from sun-up to sundown; we need time to rest and read and play and create. We need time to think and pray and ponder. We need to recharge.

Can life be an absolute blast? It certainly can. Can it be mind-numbingly boring? You’d better believe it. Is every bit of it grace? One hundred percent. By all means, enjoy the spicy, but don’t forget to live fully in the mundane. The Lord does some of His very best work in the most ordinary places.

Live and love your real life today.