GRACE

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

Ephesians 4:7

“For what we are about to receive may the Lord make us truly grateful. Amen”

Perhaps today is a good day to write about grace, as our time on Wind Rose comes to an end. I am sure most people of a certain age are familiar with the grace above that used to be said routinely before a meal. It came to me as I awoke today and I realised that what I have received over the last six months, I am truly grateful for. Grace doesn’t just apply to the food we are given. It affects all aspects of what we receive in life. And the amazing thing about the grace that comes, I believe, from God, is that we do nothing to earn it. We don’t even deserve it and yet it is freely given to us. God gives us his love without us asking for it and it is there for us to receive whether or not we believe in him because he believes in us and loves us all unconditionally. Whatever we may do in life that we feel may separate us from his love, His assurances in the Bible leave us in no doubt that he is a forgiving God who wants to shower us with his kindness and goodness. That does not mean our lives will be easy or pain-free but it does mean whatever we go through, God comes alongside and is with us, if we let Him in.

So grace, God’s loving kindness and forgiveness to us, can heal us, restore us and enable us to walk in joy and peace with a lightness of being. In so doing, we are then equipped to bring God’s grace to those that we meet. It seems to me that it is the human condition for all of us, at some time, to feel broken inside. The current pandemic has exacerbated this with so much grief, loneliness, heartache and fear being felt by so many. To show compassion and love to a stranger, a neighbour, a friend, a family member or a work colleague is something we can readily do if we know that we are filled with grace ourselves.

Life is not fair. That is something my dad taught me from an early age. We can see it to be true, especially at the moment with Covid affecting so many people but in totally different ways. He also told me that it’s what you do with what you have that makes a difference in life and to those that are given a lot, a lot is expected.

So I hope that this trip, which has been a rare opportunity for me and R to ‘escape the rat race’ for a time, will also be something that we never take for granted, but always give thanks for. It has been an amazing, grace-filled experience where we have enjoyed spending more time with God, with each other, with the people who have come across our path and with all our Zoom connections and telephone conversations. In addition living on the water, seeing and experiencing the changing seasons, has been challenging at times but worth the discomforts just to be so close to nature, the joy that comes from its beauty and the hope offered in new life be it blossom, cygnets, lambs or ducklings.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, Amen.