The One That Explains The Blog Name

Grace

Probably one of my top ten favorite things to talk about. Right behind traveling adventures and why sharks are the best kind of animal. 

I can look back on my life and count the thousands of times I had forgiven someone. Typically, forgiveness came after they realized how they treated ME poorly. Or maybe I could forgive them if they made it up to ME. I'm hearing a lot of "me" talk here. That's not grace, that's a barter. And bartering has always stressed me out. But grace is FIRST forgiveness. Grace is forgiveness with no one deserving it. It is not counting the strikes or how much is owed. 

And maybe that's the beautiful. The beauty in just letting go. 

We don't deserve it, the unmerited favor and salvation from God. But we have been made new BY grace and for good. (oh hey, where have I heard that before?) I'm not new this one time, but going to get kicked out tomorrow. Grace took care of me, for good. That's it. BOOM. DONE. 

And what if we really believed that. I'm talking more than just knowing the words or repeating the words. I mean deep down in your heart… KNOWING that you have been forgiven for all your crap. And KNOWING that there is no mess-up so awful we can do to tear us away from the grace of the Lord? You know what you got left? Freedom. And Hope. Oh man, how much I want that hope! 

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I need to dive in more. There is a beautiful thing in giving grace. Just pure and undeserved favor and forgiveness. And there is also beauty in accepting grace. By accepting this truth, alllll the shame and fear just washes away. Not that I am good at either one of those. But I am going to work on them. The giving and accepting of grace. 

AKA. The beauty of letting go

I could keep writing for days on grace. But I think I'd rather stretch it out instead…

Get it? STRECH is out? ba dum ching!