Becoming What Grace Makes Possible
One of the many lessons in life I keep relearning is how grace works — both giving and receiving it. When it comes to receiving grace, I find myself humbled and surprised when it is offered to me by others, especially when I have said or done something that has wounded, troubled, or otherwise caused someone inconvenience or upset them. But then I tend to beat myself up afterward instead of just allowing their grace to fall upon me. I start to feel ashamed and beholden, wallowing in the undeservedness of it all rather than being warmed and reassured by it. As much as I believe in the power of grace, there are times when my ego won't let me embrace it, and I have to learn again what it means to die to self, and see that the very nature of grace is the fact that it isn't earned and never deserved. This same struggle often keeps me from freely giving grace as well, which makes sense because it is the ego that inhibits us from living more grace-filled....