“Grace and Gratitude”
Dear Bethany & St. Andrew's UM Church Family,
Recently, I watched a child offer her last cookie to her younger brother without hesitation. In that simple gesture, I saw a beautiful picture of both grace and gratitude – grace in the giving, gratitude in her brother's delighted response. It reminded me how these two spiritual qualities dance together in our daily lives, often in the most ordinary moments.
Grace, at its heart, is receiving what we haven't earned. Every morning when we open our eyes to a new day, we're recipients of grace. The air we breathe, the love of family, the forgiveness we are offered – none of these are entitlements, but gifts freely given. As Paul reminds us, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).
Gratitude naturally flows from recognizing grace in our lives. When we truly understand that everything good comes as a gift, not as something owed to us, it changes how we move through the world. Like a pair of special glasses, gratitude helps us see God's fingerprints in places we might otherwise miss them:
- In the neighbor who brings in our trash bins
- In the unexpected phone call from an old friend
- In the sun breaking through clouds after days of rain
But here's the beautiful cycle: practicing gratitude makes us more aware of grace, and recognizing grace deepens our gratitude. Each reinforces the other, creating a spiritual rhythm that transforms how we experience daily life.
Sometimes we struggle to find gratitude, especially during difficult seasons. That's okay – even Jesus wept. But perhaps that's when grace matters most – not in making everything perfect, but in sustaining us through imperfect times. Even our ability to keep going is grace at work.
This week, I invite you to notice where grace appears in your ordinary moments. Maybe keep a simple gratitude journal, or share your "grace sightings" with a friend. Let's practice being people who recognize grace and respond with gratitude, creating little ripples of God's love wherever we go.
Remember: we can't earn grace – that's what makes it grace. But we can choose to live gratefully, and in doing so, become channels of grace to others.
With a grateful heart,
Pastor Brian
P.S. What unexpected grace have you noticed lately? I'd love to hear your stories after service on Sunday.
Rev. Brian Lucas, Pastor | blucas@susumc.org
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