grace.

grace.

I have a plaque on my desk. It was a treasure I found at a little tchotchke shop in Virginia. The plaque simply says “grace.” I like that it is simple in design. I like that the message it conveys is simple. But the concept of grace is anything but simple.

How do you express something so simple that a child can understand and so complex that the most learned theologian can hardly explain?
 
I once gave a VBS lesson on grace. It was a bold move for a newish believer. I stood up and asked for a volunteer. I was fortunate to have a youth who was knowledgeable about the concept as my volunteer (grace.). As a first-time speaker at a friend’s church, a place I was completely unfamiliar with, my lesson could have gone very wrong with the wrong volunteer (grace.). I learned to make balloon animals on a mission trip just a few weeks before this VBS lesson. I felt compelled by the Lord to make a large, flower balloon hat as I gave this lesson (grace.), as I had never made one before. The balloon came together shockingly, considering that I did not leave myself enough time to practice beforehand (grace.). The children were mesmerized with my balloon twisting and, therefore, paid close attention to the message I was delivering (grace.). And at the end of the week, my final message (a salvation message) was delivered to not only the children, but also to the parents (grace.). I was told afterwards that they had never had a speaker come in to deliver a salvation message before in that church (grace.). And even more so, my message was an answered prayer for a sick teen who was praying for his church. The fact that I survived this first experience and wasn’t completely terrified, nor heckled, was, again, more grace.

I wrote this last paragraph about 4 or 5 months ago. I abandoned the story because I wasn’t sure where it was going. At the time, I had no idea we would be having a Fall Kick-Off party, no idea I would be utilizing those balloon-twisting skills again, no idea that I would again need that gift (grace.). See, I love teaching people new skills, and the privilege to share the fun of balloon twisting was such a joy. I stepped into it trusting God that my apprentices would practice and excel at the skill. When you are handed people who are like sponges, desiring the knowledge that you are sharing with them, that is a different and special grace. When those people practice and put in the hard work, grace. When those same people pour love into you in return, that is, again, a special grace.

When I returned from El Salvador in June, I was convicted about my need to start learning Spanish. I have been faithfully working and practicing every day, just like my balloon learners. Sometimes I ask my Spanish-speaking friends to ask me a question or teach me a word. Last week, “Gracia” was my word from my friend. grace. I teared up, as my friend taught me the word my heart needed that day. See, I mess up in some way every single day. Yet, God gives me the grace. to go on and give it another try tomorrow. Why? I can’t explain it. I don’t think you could explain it either.

Grace is just special. I don’t deserve it. You don’t deserve it. I’ve spent many years with the words inside of me – words to share a message of grace through a VBS lesson, words of encouragement and grace for a friend, words that God whispers, etc. – but I have messed it up repeatedly. I have feared how my words would be received, feared that people would traumatize me, feared ridicule, or some other reason, and those things have kept me bound, holding back those words. But God continues to give us grace. You never know when the person you are talking to needs the word that you are carrying, words of grace. Let’s be people who love enough to say those words that they are starving to hear. Offer the grace that God gives to us.