One Face of God's Grace.

I faced some challenges this week but I got through them with God and with the help from others. Support was in abundance.  Once people reached out to me, then I was able to reach out to others, and then I watched as the support grew and grew into a big circle that encompassed us all.  In a few short days all of us found some peace and some hope and that was a very very good thing.  All of us felt gratitude and that is one of the many faces of God's grace.

Day to day, all of us including me take so much for granted and on the top of that list are the people who share our lives.  That list includes co-workers, custodians, hair stylists, the clerk at the grocery store, the mail person, the familiar face at church, the family next door, and this list goes on and on forever....Today I let my hair stylist know for the first time how much I really trusted and cared for her. I took time to write a public thank you.  After all these years, a tip and a quick thank you as I left was not enough.  She had made a positive difference in my life.  The wonderful people I work with, I can not seem to thank enough.  We have become more than co-workers, we are close friends. When one of us stumbles, there is always someone to help us find our balance again.  I seem to want to thank them over and over again.

Yesterday I wrote about community.  Today I want to express how much community can make a huge positive difference in our lives.  All of us have ups and downs so when we belong to each other then we are there to help or be helped. That is the kind of community that Jesus worked so hard on this earth to create.  And even He did not expect all of us to be the same (remember the GOOD Samaritan) but He did expect us to care about each other and be grateful.

So from now on I am going to work even harder to appreciate the wonderful lives that share mine and thank God for privilege.

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”
― Voltaire