Grace for the Day

Photo: lovefulness

I love the word 'grace.' I love how it sounds, I love it as a name, I love the images and feelings it brings to mind, and mostly, I love what it means: "the exercise of love, kindness, mercy, favor; disposition to benefit or serve another; favor bestowed or privilege conferred" (among many other definitions as well). Grace can also be defined as "seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement." How lovely. I am drawn to people who are full of grace and I have always aspired to be a woman of grace myself. Unfortunately, I typically fall very short of that with my own efforts and am instead prone to frustration and/or impatience. Which is why when I feel filled with grace or bestow it on others I know that it is ONLY with God's help that I am able to be that woman since by no means does that come naturally to me. Pretty cool actually because my weaknesses and shortcomings suddenly become the way that I'm able to praise God for what He does in and through my life, and I can't take any credit :)

The other day I experienced grace from someone in such a small way that I'm sure the person who gave it to me didn't even think twice about how it made me feel. But I was nursing an injury which made it difficult for me to turn the steering wheel in my car (hardly an issue on my 0.6 mile commute to work, but actually rather challenging when it comes to navigating the multi-level, spiraling parking garage in my building) and while taking an extra long time to make a turn, I had blocked one driver from exiting his row. Even though I only inhibited him from exiting for just a few more seconds than normal, I felt anxious because I know how I would typically feel in his situation: semi-annoyed, rushed, irritated, ready to be home after a long day at work. So when I looked in his direction I expected to see those emotions reflected in his face, but instead I saw him smile and that was it. So small, and yet I almost burst into tears in gratitude for his patience and kindness as I slowly made my way through the garage.


It made me think about two different things as I drove away. 1. I let the little things get to me way more than they should and 2. A little grace goes a long way. I'm sure having patience and not throwing an irritated look my way wasn't the hardest thing that guy did all day, and yet it totally brightened my mood.


So all in all, it reminded me to always try and extend grace to people. Because everyone has a story, and everyone has bad days. And instead of meeting someone's rudeness or poor driving skills with hostility, I want to offer grace. Because for all I know, that rude person just had a terrible thing happen to them, or that crazy driver is on the way to the hospital to meet a family member. Even if neither of those are true, I would rather give them the benefit of the doubt and air on the side of grace. Because that's what I would want someone to do for me. So I hope you can find someone to show grace to today, and that you'll receive a dose of grace in return. xoxo