Thank You Jesus for Your gift of Grace!

My sweet sister Jessica Giesbrecht ( & Husband Richard) came on Staff at YFC Portage in the Fall.  Last week she had a God moment with a few of the girls at our Craft Club...so with her permission and in her own words read this & thank Him for His Grace! Never underestimate the power of showing grace!

Jessica with some of "the girls"

"Shanley asked me when she got to The Door for Craft Night if she could get a winter jacket from our clothing room. The zipper on her winter jacket was broken, and now all she had was a spring jacket. I told her to remind me after Craft Night when the rest of the girls had gone just so it would be more controlled and so that they wouldn’t all get the impression that everything in that room was free game. So after Craft Night was pretty much wrapped up Shanley reminded me so we headed upstairs, Jacy and Josie close behind as they were all going to walk home together. I gave them all instructions before I unlocked the door of the clothing room and they all agreed that Shanley was going to get a winter jacket that day because she couldn’t come to our Clothing Spree that was happening the very next day. The two other girls would have to wait until tomorrow. I gave Shanley a jacket to try and immediately she loved it! I wanted to make sure the arms were long enough but she was in too much of a hurry - she said it fit and she loved it, and with a huge thanks she left. Jacy and Josie lingered in the clothing room looking at the clothes and trying on the shoes that were there. When it was time to go I caught Josie trying to hide a pair of high-heels underneath her jacket. Her huge smile and large jacket gave her awayJ After telling her a few times to put them back she reluctantly did, saying it wasn’t fair because Shanley stole a pair of shoes. So I went to the door and sure enough, Shanley was hurrying away struggling beneath the load of her other jacket and winter boots that she was carrying. She had slipped into a pair of shoes upstairs and in her rush to leave didn’t bother changing footwear. I yelled out the door for her to come back to The Door because I needed to ask her something. So she quickly kicked the shoes underneath a tree. She asked what I wanted so I told her she had broken my trust. I gave her a jacket and then she stole a pair of shoes. I made it clear that her job now was to return the shoes that she had stolen and also to bring back the jacket that she had been given. She was so angry and so disappointed she threw the shoes over the fence to Jacy (who had gone after her to try to get her to bring the shoes back) and yelled at her to bring them back. Then she said that she would never again come back to The Door. Josie and Jacy, and also one other girl who I had thought had already gone home were all standing around the door as I was talking to Shanley. After all this drama outside with Shanley had gone on, the drama inside, with these other girls started to escalate. It seemed as though they were bouncing off the walls with hyperness! They started to go through the cupboards uncontrollably looking for candy. They would just not listen to anything I would say or tell them. So I raised my voice and yelled, “Girls out!” Then in a stern voice I told them this was unacceptable and if they wanted to act this way they needed to leave. I explained why we have rules in this place, for their own safety and good, and that they can’t just do whatever they feel like. I told them I really don’t enjoy disciplining them. I explained that I love them and love having them come to The Door but if we let everyone walk all over this place as they pleased, and did, took, or destroyed whatever they wanted to we wouldn’t be able to keep The Door. So after this little “heart pounding” moment on respecting others and our property then all of a sudden Shanley came back in. She had run upstairs and chucked the shoes back where they had been. (I already placed the jacket in another room, one of the twins had brought it to me earlier). I met her on the stairs and by that time she was in tears. I gave Shanley a big side hug and explained the reason I had to take the jacket back. This felt like such a harsh punishment to me and here I was the one giving it! I had to work at it not to be overcome with emotion, my love for these girls in that moment grew so much! Apparently I wasn’t very good at hiding it because the one girl noticed and was sure to bring it up in a sweet wayJ But sitting on the step beside Shanley, with the twins standing around I explained that yes what she did with the shoes was wrong and was not just a small joke and that even though that had broken my trust, she regained my trust in bringing those shoes back. So today I was going to show her grace… I gave her the jacket back and said that she could keep it, it was hers and that we would just forget about what happened with the shoes. It ended in hugs all around and hopefully in a lesson that will never be forgotten! I know for me it won‘t.

“Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!” Thank You Jesus for the grace You show me daily! And for Your promise to equip me for Your purposes, for providing me with words - not of myself, but only by the Love that only You can give through Your gift of grace. What a miracle in itself… Thank You Jesus for Your presence and Authority even in the most dramatic and escalated moments of my life. Thank you for this humbling, inspiring and teachable moment!"

(Names were changed.)