“Please, grant each other some Grace” is a phrase often heard at our house when tempers fly out of control or squabbles erupt. As we speak these words to each other, these words remind us to communicate in a more loving way. In our home it is a reminder to be open to a better way of being in relationship with other. With Grace we can be open to each other’s imperfections. We can be generous with forgiveness. Over the years, I’ve found this short phrase helps me reflect on my actions and the power I have to be God’s instrument. With God’s Grace, we can communicate in a loving way. When we seek to understand that the other person is human and may regret the actions or unkind words which have hurt us then Love can be our way of being in relationship with each other. Every day we must grant each other some Grace.
The phrase has a way of popping up outside of our home as well. Not too long ago, in a busy restaurant after waiting what felt like a very long time for our food to be delivered, around the table we started to grumble about the quality of the service. The grumbling came quickly to a stop when my daughter quietly reminded us that our hungry tummies might need to be a bit more patient. Her reminder? “Let’s grant the waitress some Grace – perhaps she’s had a hard day.”
Granting Grace is not something which we can do, of course, God’s Grace is with us always. But we can choose to participate in this gift of Grace; extending it as best we can to each person we touch. It is a most excellent way.
The United Methodist Book of Discipline (2004) defines prevenient grace as "...the divine love that surrounds all humanity and precedes any and all of our conscious impulses. This grace prompts our first wish to please God, our first glimmer of understanding concerning God's will, and our 'first slight transient conviction' of having sinned against God. God's grace also awakens in us an earnest longing for deliverance from sin and death and moves us toward repentance and faith."[2]
