The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
_{Nahum 1:7 NIV}

Grace.
overflowing
overwhelming me with
dangerously deep
never failing
everlasting Love.
Sit still! and be
satisfied.

Goodness is such a squishy word. Defining it is often based on my expectations or what’s going on around me. And when troubles come I wonder,
how can this be good?
even harder,
how can a good God allow this?
Because there’s nothing good about a home turned to ashes or a family wrecked by deceit. There’s no good in losing a child or spouse. Not one good thing about disease.

So when the news came last week, I secretly wondered how to define it. Do I call it good because it was the result I wanted? because it was more than I imagined? You may be shaking your head in dismay right now. I get it. But I see the danger in defining goodness by my circumstances. Even more risky is when I define God in the same way.

I truly believe God is good, and whatever happens in this life is for my best and the best of those around me. It is not defined by me. No, goodness, God’s goodness, is defined as grace. There are times that grace is like a calm sea with waves gently lapping at the shore. Other seasons grace is knowing you are loved in the midst of the crashing waves.

The Psalmist understood this kind of love is dangerously deep.

Deep calls to deep
    in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
    have swept over me.
_{Psalm 42:7 NIV}

There is a phrase of a song I sang shortly after the fire.

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Blessed be your name.

The same phrase rises in me today. No matter the giving or the taking, I choose to give thanks and praise.