Guest Blogger ... Debora Coty

Don’t you feel loved all over when Papa God throws a few subtle grace notes into the cacophony of your day?

Grace notes? My term for those little extra blessings with which God enriches our lives. I even named my ministry Grace Notes as a reminder that whenever I feel discouraged, I need just to glance at my Lord’s fingerprints in my life and know that He cares.

I borrowed the term from my twenty years teaching piano – grace notes are the tiny notes beside regular music notes that add flair. Sparkle. Bling. Although not essential to the melody, grace notes add depth and breadth and beauty to make the music unique … special. The same way Papa God’s little touches in our lives show we are special to Him.

Like the time I invited a gal I’d just met to church. Gina was searching for something to fill the God-shaped hole in her life and the Holy Spirit had prepared her heart to be open to His love. The problem was that Gina was a smoker and I’m highly allergic to smoke.

Every time I’m anywhere near smoke, my eyes, ears, and throat itch like the mange and start constricting. I end up clawing my face and hacking like a cat with a fur ball.

The first Sunday Gina came, she was late. The service had already begun and she had to climb over four laps to reach the empty chair beside me. Both my husband and daughter, well aware of my allergy, cast disparaging glances my way as she passed them, for Gina had apparently indulged in a cigarette or two on the way to church. Smoke fumes saturated her clothes and hair like supersonic death rays. I was Clark Kent and she was kryptonite.

I inadvertently wrinkled my nose as I gave Gina a hug of welcome and steeled myself for the inevitable Debbie melt-down show to begin.

But nothing happened. Not one itch or hack or cough. The Master of Everyday Miracles hadn’t just blocked my smoke allergy that day, but every single Sunday for the two years Gina sat by me in church.

Lest you misunderstand, my allergy is still alive and well. Oh, I still lapse into convulsive fits when around smokers in restaurants or amusement parks or ballgames, but never once in church with Gina. That’s bling, sister!

Wow! It's humbling and incredibly encouraging to know the Creator of the Universe somehow finds the time to manage even the smallest details of our lives. We are special to Him and He loves composing grace notes in the symphonies of our lives.

Makes it much easier to trust Him with the big stuff, doesn't it?



Debora M. Coty is a humorist, speaker, internationally published writer of over 80 articles and award-winning author or co-author of 11 inspirational books including Mom NEEDS Chocolate, Heavenly Humor for the Woman's Soul and Everyday Hope. Her children's devotional, Prayers for Daughters, debuts this month in bookstores and she is currently working on Too Stressed to Feel Blessed (And Other Feminine Fairy Tales). Deb has two kids and lives and loves in central Florida with her husband Chuck and desperately wicked pooch, Fenway. Stop by and swap cyber-hugs at www.DeboraCoty.com

posted by Margaret McSweeney @ 10:35 AM