Sophie Hudson - Grace Upon Grace Journaling Devotional: Trusting God No Matter What

Dedication:

To the Briarwood Senior Class of 2022

I love yall.

I am sure of this, that he who started a good

work in you will carry it on to completion until

the day of Christ Jesus.Philippians 1:6

Copyright 2021 by Sophie Hudson

All rights reserved.

978-1-0877-4052-2

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: 242.63

Subject Heading: GRACE (THEOLOGY) / DEVOTIONAL LITERATURE / TEENAGERS

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible, copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Also used: New Century Version ( ncv ), copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Also used: The Message , copyright 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson

Also used: English Standard Version ( esv ), ESV Text Edition: 2016. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Also used: New Living Translation ( nlt ), copyright 1996, 2004, 2015

by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,

Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Author represented by Alive Literary Agency, www.Aliveliterary.com.

Introduction

N ow this may be a slight exaggeration, but I have basically worked with high school students since Moses was a child.

(Just a slight exaggeration, mind you.)

Ive been a teacher, Ive been something called dean of women, and most recently Ive been director of student activities at the Christian school where I have worked for twenty-one years. All those years have given me an enormous amount of interaction with high school students, particularly the girls. I havent always gotten it right, of courseand it certainly hasnt always been smooth sailing. But since students have spent a lot of time in my office, I have asked the Lord to help me be a safe place for them when they needed to talk or vent or maybe just cry while they rifled through my candy bowl and looked for miniature Twix. Whatever gets you through, right?

Im not a counselor. Im not an expert. I dont have a lot of initials after my name. (However, if repeated viewings of Home Town on HGTV count for anything, then go ahead and hand me my honorary doctorate. I AM MORE THAN QUALIFIED.)

Most of what I know about the struggles and the joys of young women has come from either (1) experience (back in Ye Olden Days I was once a young woman) or (2) listening. Ive listened as girls have talked to me during the Stress-A-Thon known as their junior year of high school, or when theyve stopped by to visit after their first semester at college, or when weve met for coffee as theyre transitioning into grad school or marriage or sometimes even motherhood.

Ive said it before, but Ill say it again (ONE MILLION MORE TIMES if necessary): the amount of pressure young women feel these days is enormous. The struggle with perfectionism is huge, not to mention that relational frustrations run deep. And although I cant fix any of that, I love to remind girls what is true:

Gods grace is at work here. He is teaching you. He is changing you. He is reminding you how much He loves you. Even when things are hard, He is increasing your compassion and empathy. He is helping you understand something that you need to know.

I believe it with my whole heart. The grace of Godthe undeserved love and mercy our heavenly Father lavishes on His childrenchanges everything. Covers our sin completely. Draws us closer to the heart of Jesus. Reminds us what matters most. Teaches us what we would never learn on our own.

And thats just the tip of the grace iceberg, my friends.

So for the next 100 days, were going to talk about that grace. And some other stuff too. I pray youll be encouraged in your faith, comforted by Gods love, and challenged in your relationship with the Lord.

I dont know what led you to pick up this book, but I am so honored youre here. It is my absolute joy to share these words with you. And finally, please feel free to dig through the imaginary candy bowl until you find your favorite. (I will warn you that the Twix are, as always, in short supply.)

Love,

Day 1

I have to tell yall: observing the life of our seventeen-year-old son is kind of fascinating. I talk to so many girls every day who are stressed or worried about different parts of their lives, but if I had to give one word to describe Alexs general mood, it would be unbothered . He is rarely stressed. Breezy, even. Ill point out an upcoming test or project, and hell shake his head, smile, and say, No worries, Soph! (He calls me Soph, by the way.) Ill get it handled!

For reasons I cannot explain, Alex Hudson lives in a place of unshakable confidence and optimism. He loves playing football, but then last year he totally surprised his daddy and me by announcing he was trying out for the spring musical review (he did the same thing again this year). He gets a huge kick out of people, he laughs a ton, and his favorite food group is wings. Sure, he can be a jerk about the dumbest things, but mostly he is wide open to whatever a day holds. I love him a lot, if you cant tell.

Recently I overheard Alex and a friend talking about their favorite Mexican restaurant, and the friend said that the restaurants salsa is sometimes too spicy for her. Alex piped up right away to disagree, and after a little bit of back-and-forth about the merits of the salsa, Alex said, Hey, if its not spicy, Im not interested! They laughed and moved on to a different (though equally riveting, Im sure) topic, but Ill have you know that I thought about Alexs comment for the rest of the day.

Not just in terms of salsa, you understand.

So often, we want life to be mostly exciting and adventurous (and yes, maybe even a tiny bit spicy). We push back against what seems ordinary or maybe even boring, and if we find ourselves in the same routine day after day, week after week, we wonder if weve gotten something wrong or missed some thrilling opportunity along the way.

I think thats why Alexs comment about the salsa got my attention. Because spicy is great and all, but a nonstop diet of it isnt necessarily sustainable (Im talking in terms of living, but thats probably also true in terms of eating). Plus, when were forever focused on life being some endless, rip-roaring ride, we can miss the grace of simple, beautiful joys: a sunset, a babys laugh, a lazy day with a friend, a Sunday afternoon nap, or a leisurely hike with the family. Were not made to live on full blast from sunup to sundown; we need time to rest and read and play and create. We need time to think and pray and ponder. We need to recharge.

Can life be an absolute blast? It certainly can. Can it be mind-numbingly boring? Youd better believe it. Is every bit of it grace? One hundred percent. By all means, enjoy the spicy, but dont forget to live fully in the mundane. The Lord does some of His very best work in the most ordinary places.

Live and love your real life today.