Sunday February 8, 2009 I have an oversized long red knit top I got years ago at Old Navy.  You know the kind: as the day goes on, it gets longer and longer.  It has long sleeves.  I have long arms.  As the day wears on, I am constantly cuffing and re-cuffing them.  If I don’t cuff them 4-5 times and push them up over my elbows, I will end up with my sleeves dragging in the dishwater or paint.

A few years ago when I saw the California style of sleeves well past the fingers, I didn’t get it.  Until I experienced California for myself.  I didn’t realize it gets cold there, even at the beach.  I thought sunny meant hot, like Florida.  I thought the surf would be warm, like ours. I always wondered why everyone wore sweaters at the evening campfire scenes on tv and in movies.  Then the long sleeve idea, I realized, was genius, for young women anyway, with no body fat and constantly cold hands.

I am so loving the cold weather we’re having.  It’s novel to dress in layers and have the heater on.  I’ve definitely been wearing the red sweater of the growing sleeves this week.  I thought of how this top also symbolized Grace as it demonstrates in my life.

I start out knowing I’m covered; that Grace in my life has it all covered for me.  As the day goes on, and sometimes chores pile up and sometimes patience runs thin and I begin to forget who I really am, Grace expands to let me know I am MORE than covered, that there is an excess of Grace to reach from me to the sky and from me to the ground.  Demonstrated by my sleeves at day’s end being halfway to my knees…LOL

Plus it gives me faith every time it happens.  Faith that it will happen again and again and again.  Ever time I wear that sweater.  Every time I need some Grace.  Grace is always raining down on me.  Just sometimes I have an umbrella up or a wetsuit on.