God's Grace and God's Face

I wrote the following column for "Jacob's Ladder," my newspaper column in the Madison Enterprise-Recorder (www.greenepublishing.com) while I was bedridden in Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. It is entitled "God's Grace and God's Face":
God’s Grace and God’s Face
I realize that I’ve stayed away from certain things many times, only by the grace of God. The blessings of my life, especially my salvation, are from the generous grace of Jesus Christ. As I lie here in a hospital bed, writing this column, I realize I owe my life to Jesus Christ and to the skillful surgical team at TMH (Tallahassee Memorial Hospital). The comfort I feel here, I owe to God’s grace and the work of the nursing team here at TMH. When I think of all the major trouble I could have gotten into over the many years -- drugs, alcohol, etc. -- I realize I owe that to God’s face. Everyone is created in the image of God. I know that as a Christian, I should set a shining example and not disappoint anyone. The look of disappointment -- on faces that I know are God’s face -- keep me from doing these things. I have stumbled more times than I can count, but I have not fallen, thanks to God’s grace and God’s face.