Learning Grace....

Coming into Mission Year I thought I had grace all figured out; grace was undeserved and freely given...just like the "GRACE period" that all of my loans gave me for the first 6 months post-graduation. During the last couple of weeks I have learned a new meaning of grace, and surprisingly I had no idea what it actually meant until I lived in an apartment with 6 other women.

The picture above is a "grace wall" that my housemates and I made. Each of us took a card and wrote down 6 "statements of grace," which said "I need grace when..." and "I'll extend grace when..." Writing out specific ways in which we need, and will extend, grace to one another. Prior to making our grace wall we talked about what grace meant to us and our working definition is this.

Grace is receiving what we don't deserve

If we think about grace from a Christian perspective, we can agree that Christ was the ultimate example of what grace is and what grace looks like. God, in all of His sovereignty, incarnated Himself to take on the sins of mankind by dying on the cross for our sins. Not only did he become a ransom for us, but He promised those who believe in Him eternal life with Him! Now, if you've got a better example of grace, please write a book and share it with the world.

So what does grace look like on a day to day basis? Grace in our home is washing our housemates dishes when she is running late for work in the morning without grumbling or complaining. Grace is not complaining that someone didn't do their chores right, but showing them how it can be done better next time. Grace is coming home from a long day at work not wanting to talk about your day, and your housemates are okay with that.

The ways in which we extend and need grace on a daily basis from one another is a never ending list. Believe it or not, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life! I am where I am today because of grace. I believe that when we come to fully understand the value of grace we have no choice but to give grace to our friend, family member, co-worker, neighbor, etc.

Try writing out your own grace statements. Where in your life do you NEED grace? Where in your life do you need to EXTEND grace?