I have to admit first of all that this post wasn’t my planned post for today. I was on a kick all about stress and stress busting. All good things to talk about these days.
Still I feel compelled to write about Grace. Not the girl…the concept behind the name.
Over the last few weeks I’ve heard snippets of conversation, read comments and today I read a beautiful blog post by Lynn Baldwin-Rhoades, all connected to this idea of Grace. 
Clearly there is a whisper here to look closer at what Grace actually is…you know? Those Divine Whisper have been getting louder again. So I’ve spent the morning doing some reasearch and self discovery around finding out what Grace is; besides a nice lady who used to live beside me when I was a kid…no fooling!
Now I want to be clear as we go about all of this, I am also not speaking so much towards the ability to move in a pleasing way (ie graceful) or what we say around dinner time okay ?
However, I bet you know I’m heading to my dictionary right? lol And I tried really hard not to get too distracted.
There were quite a few variations on the word; 10 definitions with parts in each in fact! Interesting. The 3 that I took away (ones that seemed to fit our talk here) are:
- (a) a disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill (b) Mercy; Clemency
- A favour rendered by one who need not do so
- (Theology) Divine love and protection bestowed freely upon mankind
So in fact Grace is a gift.
A gift that we are given from the Divine: be it God, the Universe or however you name it.
Grace is also giving this gift freely to others; even though no one is making us and we don’t have to.
I’d like to point out here that there is the flip side to this…we also don’t have a ‘right’ to it. To be a gift something must be given freely, with no obligation attached.
There is also something to be said for giving this gift to ourselves. Showering our ‘self’ with love is already being done by the divine of course, but we should also show the same love to ourselves; can we do no less?
I’d also like to point out that gifts should be received with an open heart, acceptance and thanks. And this is true no matter where they come from; yes..including yourself.
And so we return to living in gratitude for that which we already have.
So where do we find Grace? Right here, right now in everything. While thinking about it today (yes I woke up with it on my mind) I see gifts of Grace everywhere. From the patter of furry feet in the morning who love me no matter how crazy my hair looks in the morning; to the clear blue sky and to the kind man willing to pet even my giant goofball on our walk that made Charlie dance.
I find the Gift of Grace in forgiveness; both given to me for my mistakes and that which I give others.
I see gifts of Grace in all the online family I have surrounded myself with (you know who you are!). And today, I give myself a very special gift of Grace to allow the happy tears and revel in the joy that life is far more good than bad.
For his heart was in his work, and the heart giveth grace unto every art.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Find your gifts of Grace today, hand some out yourself. Let me know all about it here, or on my facebook page.
