Grace

There is a lot of talk these days about grace. Most of the time grace is referred to as "the unmerited favor" that is ours as a free gift of eternal life bought by the blood of Jesus and granted by our heavenly Father. All true. However there is another grace that I would like to talk about and that is the grace that enables us to live each day. The grace that we have for our family or our job or even for those we don't like. It is an unmerited favor that we give to others. It is our opportunity to become like Jesus. If you have been following my blogs you will recall that God has added to our house and with it He has added grace, both the need of it and the working out of it. I have many names in my house, Deb, Hunny, Mama, Aunt, Tante, and Nana. I answer to almost anything but the grace shows up when everyone is calling at once and there are questions I can't answer or the answers are not what the asker wants. In the midst of the hubbub and confusion God's grace says, "It's OK, don't worry. We can do the math. Diagram sentences. Go for a walk. Kiss the boo boo. Talk about boys. Do the laundry. Buy international airplane tickets. Mail news letters. Hem pants. Answer the phone. Pack. Make dinner and don't forget the cookies. And oh yes spend a little time with God.". Grace says, "Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't fret about money. Don't question the wisdom of God. Just rest each day, knowing that God is bigger than any situation you have whether it is a big problem of millions of little ones." We need to exercise and practice grace every day. Oh we love to receive it from others and especially from God however, it is a gift we are also expected to give. Tomorrow night I have the privilege to be a part of a wedding ceremony and it has caused me to reflect on my own marriage and family. Fred and I have been married 33 years and I think I have one of the most gracious husbands there is. He puts up with me. He encourages me in my ministry, listens to me when I grumble or tell the same story for the tenth time (at least I think he is listening), and even goes shopping with me. Now that man is truly a gift from God. He has had a lot of practice. Smile! I would like to encourage you to also practice grace. Offer a little unmerited favor today. Smile at the cashier in Walmart. Forgive someone even if they don't deserve it. Listen when you just don't want to listen any more. Open up your heart and live the life of grace. It works!