On Grace

“Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

The above prayer is one that can be found in The Book of Common Prayer.  It is called a Collect for Grace and in my copy of the book it is located on page 100.  I was looking for a prayer this morning because I realized yesterday that May, which has been a crazy month for me for many, many years…is especially crazy this year.  So this morning, in quickly going over my calendar with my husband, I discovered that I have between now and May 22, two nights where I don’t have to be somewhere.  This doesn’t include work during the day or trying to find some down time in order to maintain peace in my soul go I can give grace to others.

Grace according to dictionary.com is: “elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action. It is favor or goodwill. It is a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior.”  I like grace. I need grace.  Grace gives me the courage to offer margin to people who are not “likeable” or “mean-spirited”.  Grace allows me to see both sides in an argument.  Grace helps calm anger, ease sorrow, and lift spirits. When I am filled with grace I become a safe place for people to share their fears and frustrations and know they won’t be met with judgment or condemnation.  So I like grace. But there is another  more important reason why I like grace.

Grace is also what God, the creator of all things, offers to every person.  Grace that allows us to figure out who we are and our place in this crazy world we live in.  Grace that gives us the space we need to wrestle with our questions about God. Grace that chases after us even as we are walking away from God who loves us so much God sent God’s son into this world to preach and teach and heal even if It meant Jesus would go to the cross to die.  Grace that defeated death once and for all time when God raised Jesus from the dead and in that act of resurrection offered us life eternal too. Grace a manifestation of God’s favor for the people God created and who don’t really deserve God’s grace.  But…we get it anyway. That’s why I like…why I need…why I desire…grace.

Peace,

Beth