God's Grace

Somewhere over the years, I forgot about God's grace.  I had created this ideal person in my mind that I thought I should be...a certain kind of Christian, a certain kind of mother, and a certain kind of wife.  Because I could not live up to these expectations of myself, at times I became depressed and anxious.  There were even times I wondered whether I was truly saved because I couldn't live up to these expectations. Of course, this made me more anxious. Lately, as I have been seeking God, He has been showing me areas of my life that He wants to change, but He is also reminding me that His grace is sufficient.  Years ago, when God was dealing with sin in my life, He led me to Isaiah 30:18, which says, "Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.  For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him."  God wants to show us His grace and mercy and He wants to bless us.  Of course, He has set certain standards for us and it is His desire that we follow those standards; but He knows that we can't do it perfectly no matter how much we want to or how hard we try.  When we stumble, He is waiting to show us His grace and mercy.  He is exalted because no one else can take away our sin. No one else has the ability to show grace and mercy the way He does.