Saying Grace

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.  Acts 20:24

Grace.  It’s a word that God has definitely been using to get my attention lately.  I’m seeing it or hearing it everywhere, and I’m constantly reminded of it in my life.

Our children’s choir is doing a summer performance in a few weeks entitled “Amazing Grace.”  There’s only one adult in the script– Grace.  She comes around to tell the kids about God’s love and mercy as shown through his grace.

She also explains that God’s grace is in everything we do, from the very breath we take each morning to the many needs he meets for us.

But my favorite part of her wisdom is the analogy she gives during a song called “Grace is Bigger.”

Grace talks to one of the children, telling her all about how the girl’s mom felt an overwhelming sense of love when she was born.

“When you woke her up at 3 o’clock in the morning, screaming at the top of your lungs, her love for you wasn’t something she laid there and felt.  Love got up and picked you up.  You didn’t always stop crying, but you knew someone was there.  God loves you.  And His love for you isn’t something He sits in heaven and feels.  God’s love reaches out to you– and when God’s love touches your need, we call that grace.”

I was blessed and honored to be asked to play Grace in this production.  As I’ve been working on my lines and music, I’ve been stumbling every time I get to this passage.

I simply can’t say it aloud without getting choked up.

As a mother, I think this analogy is a most beautiful and tangible way to think of God’s love and grace reaching out to us.

When we are crying, hurt, frightened, worried, alone, or in despair, God doesn’t ignore our cries and listen from afar.

As a loving, nurturing parent, He reaches out and touches us.  He holds us close.  His grace moves in our lives and takes care of our needs.

God is active.  God is moving, and His grace is all around us, in each moment of our existence.

Being able to remind ourselves that God loves to hold us close, console us and meet our needs in the same way that we do for our own children– well, it’s just comforting and brings such feelings of gratitude.

And “saying grace” just doesn’t seem like enough.

Share With Me:  What is your definition of grace? How have you seen grace in your life lately?  Are there any scriptures that have touched you recently?