I’ve been involved in a number of pretty significant conversations over the past few days. I’ve been struck by a unique privilege I’ve been blessed by and do not take for granted.

It is a frightening thing to put yourself in a situation in which someone has the choice whether or not to respond to you with grace.

What is grace, you might ask?

Grace – conventionally defined, especially within the evangelical church, as “receiving something you don’t deserve.” Merriam Webster lists a solid handful of definitions including “disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency”; “a special favor”; and “the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful.”

Whatever grace is, its essence is a lot more pleasant than an array of alternative responses I could have received these past few days.

Receiving grace is humbling. Grace is the guy who could have demanded that the rent you owe be paid on time but who shows you patience and leniency because he knows things have been tough on you recently. It blooms into the lightness you feel after the worst-case scenarios you had on repeat in your head didn’t come true and instead you were pleasantly surprised by kindness, acceptance, ease, or goodness.

I’ve received a lot of grace the past few days.

-LS