grossly imperfect, infused with surprising moments of grace

there was an awesome article in the bulletin at church this morning called "A Jesus for the Great Recession (and other dark times)" by john backman.  the basic gist of it was a topic i've written about before:  the idea that just like life, faith isn't all light and fluffy - it can be messy and dark, but that doesn't mean it's not valuable and worthwhile.  this is my favorite quote from it:


"this is more like the world i know: grossly imperfect, sometimes frantic and frightening, infused with surprising moments of grace.  this is the world, according to christian teaching, that God entered in the person of Jesus."


this is our world, this is life, this is definitely me...and i am so incredibly grateful for those moments of grace and for Jesus' entrance into all the imperfection.


one of the authors i know who best writes about this stuff is anne lamott.  i have read a couple of her books, and look forward to reading more.  she also writes about grace, and i love this quote:


“i do not understand the mystery of grace -- only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.” 


thank you, God, for grace amidst the imperfections!