unmerited and unlimited

whether or not you believe in god, a higher power, or a supreme being, i think you probably know what i mean when i talk about grace.  it's anything you receive in life that brings a smile to your face and a warmth to your heart.  there's nothing you can do to earn it; it's not a reward for good behavior.  it is simply a gift- from god, from the universe, from life itself.  all blessings are grace; celebrations and holidays are grace; lessons learned from books and movies are grace; grace is everywhere we look, and it exists, whether we acknowledge it or not.

grace at school

a dear friend and fellow educator once told me that she introduced the concept of grace to her students. she told them that everybody has days where things aren't going right when they need a little bit of grace. in a true community- at home or at school- we give grace where it is needed. the point is not whether or not it is deserved; if we all got what we deserved, we'd be a sorry lot. god sends bits of grace to us everyday that we don't deserve; the least we can do is attempt to do the same for one another. what a novel concept- rather than "three strikes and you're out" or "the rules are the rules"- we have opportunities to bless children and colleagues with grace that is unexpected and maybe undeserved...how often do we give grace at school?

buechner on grace

"Grace is something you can never get but only be given. There's no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth.

A good sleep is grace and so are good dreams. Most tears are grace. The smell of rain is grace. Somebody loving you is grace. Loving somebody is grace. Have you ever tried to love somebody?

A crucial eccentricity of the Christian faith is the assertion that people are saved by grace. There's nothing YOU have to do. There's nothing you HAVE to do. There's nothing you have to DO.

The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are, because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you.

There's only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too."

(October 30 excerpt, Listening to Your Life by Frederick Buechner)

my parish priest growing up always said this was his favorite definition of grace. i don't suppose i ever thought much about it until recently. however, as with most things in my life, it took more than a couple of not-so-random incidences for me to realize that this is something i need to contemplate.