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Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name. Psalm 103:1

As always, when I woke up this morning I started giving Jesus the praise and the glory.  With Jesus I feel I could do anything because He provides me with an abundance of Grace.  I jumped out of bed and got ready to start my day.

After getting myself together, I went outside to meet Gracie, my tiger.  She was standing there waiting for me.  We greeted each other and I asked her if she wanted to go on a trip. Gracie happily replied yes, I’m ready.

I hugged and kissed her and reach down and grabbed her by the tail and swung her high and hard. She goes flying into the sky laughing and full of excitement.  Watching her sail gives me great pleasure because I know she is enjoying her ride.  When she returns we discuss her trip, praising Jesus that everything went well.

Gracie and I have been taking these trips since I was a baby.  Gracie and I are old, lovable friends, and we love spending time together.  When I have Gracie by the tail I feel powerful and filled with the blessing of Jesus. I know Gracie will not hurt me just as I know Jesus will never hurt me.  Gracie and I are celebrating the goodness and mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  In case you’re wondering, Gracie is Grace, something that the Lord provides me on a daily basis.

Grace is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.  His Grace is sufficient and with it, I can do anything.  I chose to use a tiger to symbolize Grace because a tiger is colorful and strong.  I could have use a bird but it’s too tiny for the big blessings Jesus is giving me.  I needed a humongous one to express my gratitude to Jesus for His saving Grace.

So one day if you look into the sky you may see Mary Lue’s tiger floating in the air.  If you do, know that I am feeling the mighty high of Jesus because He has greatly blessed my soul.

My Gracie is a symbol of Jesus’ love and mercy.  Taking Gracie by the tail and hurling her into the sky lets me know that with Christ, all things are possible because He consistently provides me with an abundance of Grace.  Thank you Jesus for all Your many blessings.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.

Be blessed in Jesus’ name.

Mary Simmons is a columnist for The Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch. She can be reached at aboxoflove37@gmail.com.