The Best Me I Can Be

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” 

Galatians 2:20 

I’m glad when I can wake up before my helper—my “get-up girl”—arrives to get me ready. I use that time to pray. I know myself too well—how easily my quadriplegia and morning stiffness can turn me into a sour, peevish person who lacks a smile for the day. My get-up-girl deserves a “better” me, and I’m always thankful that God pours out His abundant grace before she walks into my bedroom at 7:30 a.m. After I’m up in my chair, we’ll read from a daily devotional. This morning, this prayer gave me a smile the entire day: 

Oh, give Thy servant patience to be still,  

And bear Thy will;  

Courage to venture wholly on the arm  

That will not harm;  

The wisdom that will never let me stray  

Out of my way;  

The love that, now afflicting, knoweth best  

When I should rest.”*  

Lord, the people in my life—my husband, coworkers, friends, and even strangers—need to see the best me I can be with Your help. Fill me with Yourself, so people who encounter me will see glimpses of You; hear Your kind, grace-filled words; and even catch Your fragrance. 

*L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 314.