grace flows

i live in a gentrified community. every house in my section of the city is close to 100 years old (my house was built in 1907 or something) and we have elm trees every 50 feet down every street in every direction across this city. if you were to go to a high vantage point in Winnipeg and you looked down at the city, you would mostly see green. trees outnumber the houses and they dwarf them too.

trees mean debris when its windy (like it was earlier this week) and debris means clogged sewer drains when its rainy (like it was over the last 2 days). i woke this morning to find a lake across the street in front of my house, and it even encroached over the curb so that part of the front yard and all of the sidewalk was under water.

in the spring i have to go out and make sure that the sewer drain in front of my house is clear of ice and snow so that everything that melts can get down the drain. that way the laundry room in my basement doesn't flood from water backing up on the street, the sidewalk and the front yard. when there's debris in front of the sewer i have to guard against this very same thing.

i got a soaker this morning as i waded out (ok, i only got my shoes wet) to release the debris that would've made my yard a bayou. if i had gone right up to the sewer drain i would've been up to my knees in elm seeds, twigs, leaves, mud and ugly brown water ... so i grabbed a stick and i got my feet wet as i stood at arm's length and dug to release the blockage.

i tell you all this because of the wave of joy as i heard and saw the blockage release and water WHOOOOSHED down into the sewer drain. it made me feel joyful to be rid of what held me back. it was a moment of grace and all the crud of my life whooshed away to leave what i needed for my life.

Grace is real. Grace flows. Grace washes things clean and makes things new again. the crud of life washes out and i am made clean.

redemption is a story. my story. and my story is one of needed grace. grace that flows.