“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” – The Bible

Grace…

Until a few years ago, I never quite understood the meaning of Grace. I mean, you hear people use it in church, and it is usually as a means of sounding holier than others… I always felt a twinge of irritation when I heard others use it.

But, as I mentioned in the previous post,  the last 7 years have been very difficult years for me. Stripped to my core, I have been through some humbling times. And Grace has carried me through.

I once heard a definition that completely transformed how I felt about Grace. “Grace is God’s willingness to use  His infinite resources and power to meet your every need.”

Kapow!

Imagine that. Imagine having access to infinite resources. How would you behave? How would you show up? What would you do differently?

I always felt uncomfortable with the idea of grace. Traditionally defined as “God’s unmerited favor.” Don’t get me wrong. I  liked the “favor” part. It was the “unmerited” part I had trouble with.  As a life-long  achiever, I have always prided myself on working hard, going after my goals, having big dreams and barreling like a bull in a china shop (not gracefully, I am afraid!) to get them done. I didn’t want to owe anyone.

But over and over again, I have experienced radical expressions of grace… Inexplicable, unsolicited, awe-inspiring  generosities sent my way.

For example, over the past year,  I stopped hiding in shame over my failures  and stepped out into the entrepreneurial world. I  showed up as myself and  received approval and acceptance from kindred I didn’t know existed. For some reason, I received unprecedented favor and access to people I had long admired.  And for quite a while, this  unsettled me… I kept wondering what I had done to deserve that attention or favor… Then immediately,  I felt like I had to earn my keep and kept looking for ways to do so in order to be of service… Again, I didn’t want to owe anyone.

Being a giver, I was often unsure of how to respond.   Service is a core ideal, so reaching out for help hardly ever occurs to me. Receiving has always been awkward and uncomfortable.  When I am given something, I feel this need to give back immediately.  Questions immediately swirl in my mind as I tried to figure things out. How do I repay this favor? What have I done to deserve it? How to I pay it forward? Why is this happening?

We all do this.

It’s like receiving a compliment on a beautiful outfit and immediately feeling the need to give a reciprocal compliment or trivialize the compliment we’ve been given. We want to brush off the vulnerability we feel and immediately try to do something to earn it, or prove we are worth it. So we don’t owe any one.

“One day in God’s grace is equivalent to a thousand days of striving by your own efforts” – Joseph Prince

I have lived a life propelled by grace… I am not the smartest, kindest or bravest woman by a long shot… but my life if filled with miracles,  favor I can’t rationalize. I have been given a lot.

I am learning that it is not my hustling that earns me grace… I am not successful because I am good… God doesn’t bestow grace on me because I love Him, or I am good or I have earned it… Like I always say, it’s not about me. God gives me grace because God loves me. l haven’t done and can’t do anything to earn that love.

So, the next time you experience grace, no matter how outrageously generous, how about doing something different?

What if you said “thank you”? What if you paused and really received the gift that was being given? What if you smiled and receive the gift, the compliment, the grace graciously?

You don’t have to hustle for worthiness. You are worthy not because of any thing you have done but because you are loved. So, stop!  Stop scrounging for approval. There are people out there who love you “as-is”.  You are loved, not because of what you have done but for who you are.

As someone who is used to giving, this has been a hard lesson to learn…  Grace is a two way street! Giving Grace requires receiving graciously.

Imagine that. Really accepting the love that is sent your way… really receiving it with peace, gratitude, humility, and grace… not fighting or trivializing the experience, but embracing it.

That is grace…

It has never been one of my strongest suits but I am determined to learn.

Instead of holding on to my pride and saying “no thanks” to the gifts I have been given, or the help that is being extended, I realize my need and humbly accept… And I accept, not out of embarrassment but out of awe, that I have been given such a gift. God has tapped into His infinite resources and met my need.

I am grateful.

Sometimes I forget and  return to old ungracious habits.

But I am determined to cultivate grace. I want to be more and more gracious, even as grace is extended to me – that inexplicable extension of  Divine power that helps me do what needs to be done.

Steven Furtick once described grace as “God breaking the rules to give you what you need.”

Boy, am I grateful for that!

 

Cultivating The Art of Receiving Graciously:

1. In what ways have you been a recipient of grace lately?

2. What is your usual reaction? Trivializing? Rejection? Armoring up?

3. How does pride keep you from receiving grace?

4. In what ways can you become a more gracious recipient?

5. In what ways can you extend grace to others?

6. How is your gratitude practice? Thriving? Floundering?

7. Whom can you enlist in your quest to cultivate grace, humility and gratitude?

Grace visits everyone. Take some time to reflect this week and note moments of grace in your life. Remember, the rules are being broken to give you what you need so you can do good in the world. Now, that’s something to humbly accept and be grateful for! See you next week! 🙂

Yvonne Whitelaw  writes for Yvonnewhitelaw.com where she blogs about her quest to grow into her ideals in her “Live Your Ideals Project”. By sharing her Daily Haikus and lessons along the way (every Monday and Thursday), she hopes to serve and inspire a tribe of wholehearted  humanitarians, visionaries and idealists like you, to “live your ideals, live your calling and change the world.”