Page 95 - Gary's Book - Final Copy 7.9.2017_Active

I pray and invite the Lord daily to assist me in being the Christian I should be and
desire to be, but it is difficult, for sure. God has given me blessings. His grace is
unimaginable. His mercy is difficult to perceive. It is like living at the intersection
of Truth and Grace in caring enough to tell the truth in love. Fortunately, Abba

God our Heavenly Father already knows both our inner thoughts and feelings.
No matter how difficult life becomes, we belong to families. I found mine in

Georgia. The love I share with my cousins, friends, and church family cannot be
expressed in words. There are times when we have let down those we love and
have failed the people who care the most about us, but through it all, we have
discovered a group of people who make us feel like we belong – a group that feels

and says, “What happens to you matters to me.”

Sue felt this way from day one. She said, “I accept you for who you are,” but
probably more important to me was that she accepted me for who I was not.
Together we stand and face all of life’s ups and downs with a confidence born of a
sure identity in our family. Despite the pain, frustration and embarrassment, my
family is God’s gift to me. The caring, nurturing and confidence that comes from

being seen at our worst and still knowing that we belong to one another is the best
gift of all.

My Journey up the Hill has provided a broad spectrum of my life and its many
people – relatives, parents, siblings, friends, co-workers, socialites, hypocrites,
atheists, Christians, and real family. This is combined with politics and realities,
immobility and growth, failures and accomplishments, dire poverty and extreme

wealth, social injustices and human nature.

. . . and I would not change it for the world!

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