What The World Needs Now, Is....?

Yes, it's been a loooooong time since I last posted, I know.  Sorry!

It's not that I haven't had anything to say...it's the opposite.  My problem is that my thoughts are all over the place, and I keep thinking that this blog is the spot where I need to FOCUS on something spectacular and important that will draw the masses back here each and every day so that I can have a life like The Pioneer Woman.

And yet, it's been ages since I posted because I can't pull my act together!  Imagine that.  And every day I deal with the stress I put upon myself that "today is the day that I'm going to pull this blog thing together and make it happen", and then end up disappointing myself, once again, by the end of the day when I realize the blog hasn't written itself.

So, what's different about today, you ask?  Have I finally found the key?  The missing link?  The glue that pulls the corners of my crazy mind all together into one mass that has some semblance of a cohesive thought process?

No.  I haven't found that key, link, or glue.  What I found, though, was a spark...something sparked me, and it was enough to get me to the keyboard to share one thing with you that is so meaningful, so profound, so IMPORTANT, that it just could not be put off.

The spark...was an attack, on me, and on some others I love.  I'm not sure that the person even knows that he/she attacked me, or my loved ones, personally.  But this person did something harmful - something that he/she does not even realize the full effects of the harm done.  And, I am quite sure this person did this out of complete ignorance, not bothering to do the research that should have been done before diving into maliciously attacking others...others of whom he/she has NO understanding.

And, in so doing, this person afforded others NO GRACE.

GRACE is, according to one definition, the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful.

Imagine, is it so hard to hold your tongue long enough to take a moment, a mere moment, to consider the others whom your words may affect?

Take it a step further:  Imagine if, in that moment, you realize that your words could actually harm another, physically, emotionally, or in any way.  Is it so hard to hold back those words completely?

And now, let's take it one step even further:  Imagine that you actually put yourself in that person's shoes, and truly considered that their circumstances are beyond what your mind could even conceivably imagine.  Really, imagine that you, from your world, cannot even imagine the world that this person has been born into because your person hood, your backgrounds, your surroundings, your wounds, your scars, are so vastly different.  Would it be so hard to grant this person the favor of your pardon for their failings?  Or to even go that extra mile and extend them a reprieve, forgiveness, and even, dare I say it, understanding?  Here are a few other words used to define Grace that would fit in this instance:  goodwill, mercy, clemency, exemption, even indulgence.

Yes, what this world needs now is GRACE, sweet GRACE!  Is that too much to ask?  In a world in which we are so quick to become offended, so rushed to judgement, so eager to condemn and convict and lock up and throw away the key, GRACE may just be too much to ask of one another...it seems.

And yet, there is One who freely gave it, who sacrificed it all for our sake, though we have done and can do nothing to earn it.

Truly, we need DIVINE GRACE, which is truly something we humans do not deserve, and yet have been given freely.   And all we have to do is accept it.  Believe it.

And so, though this person has not afforded GRACE to me, or to my loved ones affected by this, I am going to grant them GRACE.  I am not going to respond to this person.  I am not even going to attempt to mount a defense.  Instead, I am going to pray for this person.  Love this person.  And, yes, even extend the hand of friendship to this person.  This person may never even realize what he/she has done, and honestly, it is my prayer that this person finds out the TRUE meaning of GRACE.

And please know, I am not deserving of ANY praise for this, for it is ONLY by the Power of the Holy Spirit's work in my life that I am able to do this.

I have experienced GRACE in my own life.  If ever one deserved to die for wronging another, I do, for I have sinned against the very one who died for me.  And yet, He gave me GRACE, yes, LOVE.  And I love, because He first loved me.  AMAZING GRACE!!!