Quit Posing

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. — 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV

Picking up the frame from its place on my parents’ bookshelf, I leaned in for a closer look. I remembered the taking of this picture. What a drama it had been, trying to get fourteen people, including a number of small children, assembled in one place, looking in the correct direction, with two open eyes and pleasant expressions on their faces. It hadn’t gone exactly smoothly, but Mom had insisted it was the only thing she wanted for Christmas that year — a picture of the whole family gathered together for the holiday. So, for her, we’d powered through the chaos and gotten it done. This photo had been the best of the dozen we’d taken, and at the time, I remembered feeling disappointed by its imperfections.

Now, though — years later — it was specifically the photograph’s quirks and flaws that drew my eyes and made my heart smile. Dad had been caught midword. “Cheese!” I recalled him saying just as the camera’s self- timer flashed. My daughter, barely more than a toddler that Christmas, was turned sideways, attempting to entertain her baby cousin. My sister’s eyes were closed. And my grandmother, who’d passed away a couple of years ago, was sitting in her chair, looking down at her hands, a serene smile on her face.

We’d thought we wanted a perfectly posed and polished holiday photo. What we’d gotten instead was an authentic snapshot of our clamorous, rollicking family, just as it really was. What could be more perfect than that?

Thank You, God, for the reminder that it is the authentic and vulnerable sharing of our inner hearts, our human quirks, flaws, and foibles, that opens the door for God’s grace to shine through. — Erin Janoso

Digging Deeper: 1 Samuel 16:7; Psalm 139:1

Excerpted with permission from Daily Guideposts 2021, copyright Guideposts.

* * *

Your Turn

We won’t be perfect until Heaven. And, that’s a good thing! It means that Jesus shines through us. The glory is all His! In our messiness, in our mistakes, in our bumbling fumblings, Jesus wins, He is the victor. Praise Him! Come share your thoughts with us, We want to hear from you! ~ Devotionals Daily