“Gratitude prepares a space for grace to reside.” A.A. old timer
I am a firm believer that there are two primary ways that God’s grace comes to us, there are unfathomable ways for that to occur but these are the two prime ones in my life: they are through a wound in our hearts and/or when space has been prepared.
You see I know God is in the “Grace Business” for I am a wounded sinner who has experienced divine grace more than I can even recall. But I am learning that grace does not force itself into me, rather I must open myself up to it, empty myself of all that is ego, then and only then does grace come rushing in.
I must be intentional in preparing a space and for me that space is created through gratitude. Gratitude is a reality that claims that God IS and therefore all is well. Gratitude knows that all things, moments, and experiences can be and become blessings when seen through the eyes of ‘thank You.’ Gratitude understands that nothing lies outside of God and God’s will for if anything did stand outside of God’s hands then God is neither omnipotent nor omnipresent.
Gratitude understands that in truth all things are present now, that I do not need to beg God for them, and that trust and thankfulness are the keys that open us up to the blessings of grace in all things. Gratitude is about fleshing out my “thank You” to God. It is about knowing I am only what and who I am because of God’s grace. And let me tell you, I need grace, daily, sometimes minute by minute because the world wants to ensnare my heart, strangling it with fear and dread.
I have to empty myself out and make some space for grace and the space I need to empty out is where the ego resides, for my ego takes up a great deal of space. But empty I must if there is to be any room for grace. I am called to be like Mary, who in order to be so full of grace, had to be emptied of herself…as in when she said “be it done to me according to Your Will.”
I am rarely in the head space for grace, but when I shift into gratitude, I am always in the heart space for grace to come and come it does: in ways unexpected, messily, tenderly, forthrightly, surprisingly, but always, always does God’s grace faithfully come.
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