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BY ROBERT DOCTER
Tiny moments of grace
Grace spreads her generous beauty in tiny moments sensed with your heart.
It passes fleetingly when undiscerned the moment gone when ignored the opportunity missed a connection broken.
Grace never pushes herself never demands attention never seeks to stay when unwelcomed showers her unassumed elegance without favor.
Anger suffocates grace. Self-centeredness rejects it. Grudging reluctance dissipates it. Broken commitment denies it. Dishonesty drowns it in a pool of deceit. Judgmentalism buries it in legalese.
Grace is felt more than seen experienced more than heard sensed in the heart more than by touch returns as doubled when given.
For me, grace arrives in many ways.
a baby’s smile
a grandson’s hug on a gray, cold day
sincerity
the noise of happy children
true love in any form
growing old together
truly connecting
patience in the face of frustration
overflowing joy in the eyes of a loved one
tiredness at the end of a
hard day’s honest work
hearing someone close say “I love you.”
genuineness
empathy
learning what to achieve
growing
acceptance
coming home
peace in the middle of the night
never-ending, undeserved forgiveness
the depth a poem brings to the soul
music
experiencing freedom
a flower
a sunrise and a sunset
wonder
finding the balance in safety and risk
little acts of mercy
It is through grace I have learned
that my true humanness is found not in laurels but in love
that the marginalized of my world are my best teachers
that diversity is one of God’s most remarkable gifts to the world
that labeling or judging others negatively only diminishes me
that what God really wants from me is a relationship
that he is always available but will not impose himself on me
that I disappoint him often
that if I ask, he will always forgive me
that if I get to know him better I will want to be more like him and find myself in a state of grace.
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