June 17, 2015 - Giving Grace

photo courtesy of Chris Fischer

ACIM Lesson #168

“Your grace is given me. I claim it now.”

One definition of grace is: "Divine Love bestowed freely on people." I’ll always remember a young woman who came in my gallery one evening and told me that she loved art, but that she didn't have any talent because she had been sexually abused as a child. I smiled at her and she said, No, really, every day for years and years! I told her I wasn't smiling about what she had said or what had been done, but I was smiling at the part of her which had never been touched by any of this. I told her everyone has lots of talent and for her to try different things until she found something she really loved -- and then keep on doing it! Her eyes lit up as she listed things she loved and wanted to do. By practicing kindness when faced with hardness of heart, meekness when those around us are aggressive, loving those who seem unlovable, and paying it forward at every opportunity, we acknowledge the grace which is our true heritage. By this, we learn what it feels like, not just what it means.

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds."

Science & Health Page 4:3-5