The Rose Calico Journal

“Josie, you know Troy will ask you to go to the Homecoming Dance. I don’t know what’cha worryin’ about.” Twelve-year-old Jessica spoke as she propped up her chin with her hands, elbows on the table.
“Jessica’s right, Josie,” Rebecca added, as she wiped the last crumbs off the table. “I think you are getting yourself worked up over nothing. Besides, Homecoming is a good month away.”
Josie crossed her legs Indian-style on her chair and mimicked Jessica’s pose. “But he always asks me as soon as school starts. I haven’t even seen him this week!”
Jessica chose a blue crayon and started to tease, “Ahh, poor–
“Jessica, that’s enough.” Rebecca sat down and picked up a crayon herself.
“You’re a brat Jessica!”
“Josie! Girls, don’t we know better than this? Josie, don’t take your frustrations out on your sister. Jessica, you know it isn’t kind to tease. You wouldn’t want Josie to tease you.
“Listen, I know you are both tired after the first week of school–Just moving in and all, but getting grumpy doesn’t help anything.”
Josie apologized to her younger sister. Jessica replied with her “sorry,” and a “Come on, let’s go play Super Mario.” As the girls were going up the stairs, Rebecca heard her add, “Don’t worry Josie, Troy will ask you.”
A couple hours later, about two-thirty, Phillip came in with Jimmy and a line full of fish. “Look Mom, what I caught!”
Phillip laughed, “What you caught?”
“Well,” Jimmy conceded, “Dad helped.”
Rebecca knelt down and hugged her son. “That is awesome Jimmy. You’re a good fisherman. I bet they will make a yummy supper!”
The little boy looked around the room, “Where’s Grandma? I want to show her.”
….
“Grace for grace…” Rebecca repeated.
“It is another reflection in Papa’s Mirror.” Lottie almost whispered. “God has grace for us, given grace to us, for us to have grace and give grace to others–Remember, responding to life in God’s image with God’s strength. In this case, responding with grace. Mama wanted me to learn what that looked like, what it felt like. I wrote in my Rose Calico Journal for years, here and there, for some reason usually when things were especially hard.” Lottie paused.
Rebecca leaned over and turned the first page. She read the little-girl handwriting, “Have grace to share,” and turning the page again, “Have grace to not sin even when you are angry or want something a lot.”
Lottie leaned her head back against the mahogany rocking chair. “You’d be surprised how many times God used those little-girl lessons even when I was an adult….Becca, you know the more I pondered grace, the more unfathomable it seemed–then I realized that being ‘unfathomable’ is part of what grace is. Grace just doesn’t make sense to our minds; and yet it is Christ’s greatest expression of love. It is the power God has given us to stand–Oh look at me, old woman goin’ on and on.” Lottie closed the journal and smoothed its cover once more. “Thanks for helping me find it, Becca.”
“I am glad we found it. Are you going to try to go to church tomorrow?”
“I think I will be up to it. Wake me.”
Sunday turned out to be a beautiful Fall day. The family rested and felt ready for a new week. Monday, however, came with a surprise.
Josie rushed through the front door and slid into the sitting room where her mother sat sorting through the last of the boxes. The sun warm on her face, Lottie had dozed in the corner chair. “Mom! Mom! You’ll never guess what happened–
Lottie sat up with a jerk and Rebecca reprimanded Josie for being such a whirlwind.
“But Mom, you just don’t know!”
“I’ll guess. Troy asked you to go to Homecoming…” Her words trailed off when Josie held out her left hand.
….
Once Lottie had her journal in hand, she began to speak about grace and she said, “I realized that being ‘unfathomable’ is part of what grace is. Grace just doesn’t make sense to our minds; and yet it is Christ’s greatest expression of love. It is the power God has given us to stand…” The story of Philemon and Onesimus demonstrates this well. A runaway slave who had achieved freedom returning to a master who could possibly have him killed, or at the very least, enslave him again? A rich man, who owns many slaves, freeing one who had disobeyed, run away and stolen from him–risking the rule he held over the others? Both Philemon and Onesimus had been wronged. In our way of thinking, reconciliation was not only impossible; it was undesirable. Retribution makes more sense to us. However, Paul convinced Onesimus that reconciliation was not only possible–It was worth risking his life. We do not have a record of that conversation, but what reasons do you think Paul might have given Onesimus?
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What are the natural responses in these situations from our story?

• Josie is expressing worry about her boyfriend and her sister Jessica begins to tease her. Josie calls Jessica a brat.
• Phillip’s boss is quite demanding and asks Phillip to go to the office on a Saturday evening.
• Rebecca and Phillip are surprised when Josie comes home with an engagement ring at the beginning of her senior year of high school.

Grace is not a natural response, but operating in grace is the most powerful testimony of the gospel. Grace puzzles people, draws people...Grace answers questions people think have no answer. Grace truly reflects our Savior and bears witness to the transforming miracle of new life in Him.
Use the verses and the word bank to complete the paragraphs below.

poverty grace all abundant stewards
spreads appeared sufficient Word Beloved
stand thanksgiving serve poor vain
saved works sufficiency established Lord
fullness faith

God’s grace has ______________ to ______ men (Titus 2:11). The __________, full of ___________ and truth, lived among us (John 1:14). He, Jesus Christ, became ___________ for our sakes even though He was rich so that we in our ______________ might become rich (II Cor. 8:9). This is the grace of our _________ by which we are _____________ through faith (Eph. 2:8-9) and accepted in the ________________ (Eph. 1:6). Christ came into the world to save sinners and the grace of our Lord was exceedingly _________________ (I Tim. 1:14-15). May we not receive this grace in __________; today is the day of salvation (II Cor. 6:1-2). By ____________, we access this grace in which we now _____________ (Rom. 5:2), our hearts are _______________ by this grace (Heb. 13:9), and we are _____________ of this grace (I Pet. 4:10). Not in and of ourselves, it is a gift of God, not of ____________ or it wouldn’t be grace (Eph. 2:8-9). God’s grace is ___________________ for us (II Cor. 12:9) because we have received of the _______________ of Jesus Christ (John 1:16), and grace for grace. By grace, we may ______________ God acceptably (Heb. 12:28). God makes grace abound for us–for ______________________ in all things and for every good work (II Cor. 9:8). Grace ______________ and causes _____________ to the glory of God (II Cor. 4:15).