8/28/2008

What's so Amazing about Grace?

Josh and I flew to California to visit with his side of the family. ( I will blog more about the trip later and post pictures too.)   While we were there I managed to drop our brand new digital camera in the ocean at the beginning of the week.  Thus preventing us from capturing the memories of our wonderful family vacation.  So there goes a couple hundred dallor loss.

Now if this would have been Josh dunking the camera I would have for sure told him how stupid that was and ridiculed him for being clumsy.  I also was tempted to let it ruin my day. But my sweet husband had the opposite reaction.  He just shrugged it off and said it was no big deal.  WHAT?  Isn't he suppose to like get mad and frustrated???   It's not like we have extra money laying around to purchase a new one.  And it's not like we can come back to Laguna Beach and San Diego to retake the pictures next week.   

I pretty much felt I deserved for him to at least be mad at me.  But nope... He extended me so much grace and just kept smiling and having a good time and let it roll off his back.  He also kept me from getting mad at myself.

Ok, so fast forward a couple of days to our last day on the beach.  This was a day we had both been waiting for.  We were in San Diego with his Aunt Cindy and Uncle Jim who provided us with great company and a surf board.   Josh LOVES to surf and couldn't even eat breakfast because he was so excited.  Before he went into catch the big waves he handed me his wedding ring and said he was scared he would lose it so he wanted me to hang on to it.   So I put the ring on my thumb.

A few hours later I looked at my thumb and there was no ring!   Inside I was freaking out but was trying to remain calm.   So we frantically being looking in the sand and walking the beach.  After searching for a while we called it quits and determined that the ring was lost.  

Again, if Josh lost my wedding ring then that may have been the start of  world war 3. But Josh was totally calm and composed.  He never even attempted to get mad.  He never so much as asked me how I could loose it.  He just told me not to worry and that it was only material things that could be replaced.  He said as long as he had me and Ivy then we were all good.  

I can not express how amazing my husband is to extend me so much grace when I definately felt I deserved to at least see him get frustrated.  Josh is such a picture of Christ to me and I wish I could be more like him.   I am so grateful to have a husband to set such a good example to me of how I should extend others grace when they make mistakes.  

This also served as a reminder to me of the grace Christ extends to each one of us.  Before I became a Christian I lived some pretty wild days.  For the longest time I felt like I couldn't follow Christ because I had messed up so bad.  But just as Josh forgave me for loosing some pretty precious items, Christ also forgave me for my wilder days.  It's so amazing to have a God that just forgives regardless of our past.  It's also the most wonderful feeling to be married to godly man who forgives me even when I feel I don't deserve it. 

I love him so much!  Ivy is also so blessed to have a daddy like Josh! 



4 comments:

Unknown said...

That is awesome Ashley. You do have a stinkin awesome dude.

Julie said...

WOW! I am not sure that Ed would have responded quite the same way, but he has become very gracious with my car wrecking hobbies!

John and Sarah said...

That is awesome. I would have had the exact same thoughts you had if John had dropped the camera or lost the ring. We are so lucky that we get grace every day. I need to extend it way more than I do.

Katie said...

Thanks for sharing that friend. Such good stories an reminders of how God is to us. Thanks again.
Can't wait to return and visit you all!!

Katie Greenwell