What Has Grace Done for You Lately?

I had a house-keeper once named Grace.  She was a good house-keeper, but that is not the Grace of whom I speak.

GRACE is the abundant, overwhelming,

constantly flowing GRACE of God.  So, what has GRACE done for you lately?

In John 13 we read of Jesus performing a foot-washing.  He took the bowl and a towel and went to each disciple, knelt down (a humbling act), and began washing their feet.  Dusty feet, some with sores, and cuts, and bruises.  Some were bleeding, some probably smelled badly.  Some needed a manicure.  And Jesus gave an act of grace that day by washing their feet. 

He touched the ugly parts of their lives, the disgusting parts.  He gave grace in that moment.

I have the quote from Maya Angelou in my files.  It speaks of grace.

“When I say … ‘I am a Christian’, I’m not bragging of success.  I’m admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.” 

That is grace. 

And in another place, Maya adds this:

“When I say … ‘I am a Christian’, I’m not claiming to be perfect.  My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.”

What has grace done for you lately?

In the last few years, Carolyn and I have been clinging to the concept of a “life of grace.”  We often speak of the grace of God in our lives, and how we are trying to find ways of extending grace to others with whom we come in contact. 

What has grace done for me lately?  It has changed the way I relate to God.  I open myself up to the grace for each moment, every day, that God is offering.  I thank God for the grace that flows down to me for every situation in which I find myself.  I receive His grace for my past failures, past sins, and I rise up to walk in the newness of His grace. 

I experience grace abundant, overflowing, filling and refreshing my life.  I have a kinder eye and heart for others I meet in my daily schedule. 

Grace is changing me. 

Meet Roger.  He is 71 years old and if he were to race a turtle, the turtle would win.  He walks … slowly.

Roger is my friend.  I have taken on as a ‘grace project’.  Roger is a cigar-smoking, ex-navy guy.  He is rough around the edges, swears like a ‘sailor’ and if I were to quote some of his words, it would turn this page blue.  Roger does not exactly use what we might consider “Christian terminology”.

But he is my friend, and I constantly seek ways to help him.  A month ago, I took him to buy a window fan for our ninety-degree summer days.  I think that was something God wanted me to do. 

Roger is alone now.  No nearby relatives, no close friends, just me and a ‘former stripper’ friend who occasionally checks in on him.  I’m finding ways to insert grace into Roger’s life.  And God is there.

What is grace doing for you?

How is grace showing up in your life?

I tell this story of Roger, not to gloat.  There is no gloating in the meager moments I am able to help him.  But it is what I can do in this time and place.  Grace happens in those moments, and I give it to God for Him to take and apply as needed.

Just yesterday, Roger and I talked.  He thanked me for my friendship and kindness.  He is seeing the grace of God in my small acts. 

I have freely received.  I freely give.

Grace is changing me.  Grace is in me.  Grace is oozing out from me in small drips and spurts.

~I’m not perfect.

~I’m not holy.

~I’m not the wisest owl in the room.

~I’m not the most gifted.

But I am receiving grace from God, and I can share with my fellow man.

That is what grace is doing for me.

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