A Weak of Grace

I’m not someone who really believes in coincidences, I firmly believe that my God is organized. So organized that He can appear not so…make sense?

On Thursday of last week I was at the corps, and Meghan was doing her exercise class. I am not one of the fittest people on the world, (I blame it entirely on my mother and her exceptional cooking,) but I try when there are skinnier girls in the room – I like to represent me and my chunky girls well! Anyway, pretty much everyone that has taught me any kind of fitness has been less than nice, and yell and scream, generally not having any time for those they are teaching, which is crazy I know, but that’s has been the way of it. Not with Meghan, she couldn’t be more patient, more gracious to us in need of her help. She is awesome with us, I truly appreciate it, and man we smell awesome by the end of it – those poor people in Starbucks that night, Carole and I were not our prettiest I’m telling you.

Friday, I had a debate with someone that circulated around a lack of grace for people. It took wild and various tangents, but for me, the message was the same – the lack of grace, and a lack of teaching toward that end.

Saturday was spent in the city at the 21 club. There were about 10 if us in all, who go in and play for the patrons and then collect some money for them. What has overwhelmed me is how nice the staff is to us. While walking down the stairs, I turned to comment on it to Stephanie, thinking that it was Mike was behind her, I said, “They don’t need to be this nice to us!” When I looked up, it wasn’t Mike, but Jeffrey, the manager, who bends to our, (Debbie’s ;)) every need. I was embarrassed that he caught me talking about the club, which was crazy, I was being nice! If I was being mean, that would have been a reason to be ashamed, but being nice, what is that? What a very 21st century world view. Merely commenting on the graciousness of the club toward the Army; they are very good to us. Why don’t we acknowledge grace?

Sunday was Christmas – Merry Christmas by the way – and I received many lovely gifts, but one was a bottle of shower gel. I am not at all offended; this is some seriously nice shower gel, called “amazing grace” On the front of the bottle is a blurb:

Philosophy: life is a classroom. we are both student and teacher. each day is a test. and each day we receive a passing or failing grade in one particular subject: grace. grace is compassion, gratitude, surrender, faith, forgiveness, good manners, reverence, and the list goes on. It’s something money can’t buy and credentials rarely produce. being the smartest, the prettiest, the most talented, the richest, or even the poorest, can’t help. being a humble person can and being a helpful person can guide you through your days with grace and gratitude.

Smack number 4! Still hadn’t got there yet…onto Monday. Visiting my pastors/mentors/friends/previous employers, people I can comment on anything and everything, and they seem to have the knack of knowing what to jump on and what to let me wonder for myself with. Janet suggests that I read “What’s so amazing about grace?” So Tuesday, (I am the type of person that either grabs the bull by the horns, or, I don’t do it,) I buy the blessed book. Wow Salvation Army, guess what we all should have received in our Christmas stocking! Grace, so much grace needed in our society of ungrace.

Wednesday, I’m dog sitting this week. For two families, who live in different houses, I’m not complaining, I offered to dog-sit for both. Just to set the scene, I get home from work and head straight to the Kelly’s, and let Jax out. Today I decided to make banana bread, and it takes an hour in the oven, so I go home, put the bread in the oven and head back over to the Kelly’s only to find that the key isn’t in its designated spot. I put it in my jacket pocket and I left my jacket on the couch at the Bates. RAR! I drove all the way back to the Bates, and then all the way back to the Kelly’s, (seriously, it’s like a 6 minute drive in traffic, it’s the principal more than anything,) and I let wee Jax back into the house and put him in his wee kennel. Gotta tell you, I was proud at how I didn’t fly off the handle at myself. I realize it was only because I had time to be driving back and forth, and I wasn’t in a mad dash rush to go to the corps, or pick up the girls, or meet Carole for our “Oh so important, sort out the world over a skimmed latte” meetings, that I was able to get back in the car and drive calmly to the house, get the key, check on the bread and get back the Jax. I realize that that is what grace looks like for me, by me. That doesn’t happen often, we rarely have time to have grace for ourselves, or anyone else, because we are so busy being mad at the individual.

Thursday, first day this week I actually made it to the gym – I’ve been sick, cough, cough ;) or just lazy…

So, I am getting ready for work at the gym and the skinny pretty blonde girl is there, (I think she is a plant by the gym to make us all feel guilty about the second slice of banana bread, or for the evil thoughts of making banana bread in the first place!) who I cannot seem to like. (The man down the corridor is singing along, badly to “Dance with somebody” by Whitney Houston, yes!) This girl looks like my nemesis from high school. We were great friends up until sixth year and then we fell away from each other, and got downright mean to each other. She was the pretty, blonde, blue eyed, athletic, always had the party’s type girl, I…wasn’t. So I think that’s why the girl in the gym annoys me so much. (Let my just get up from my psychologist couch, ahem!) Anyway, as I’m getting dressed, I lift my new bottle of shower gel, (which I didn’t use, even though that was my reward for actually going to the gym this morning,) and read the front for the first time. It smacked me in the face that the skinny pretty blonde girl needs grace, and me being jealous of the fact that she is the “Skinny Pretty Blonde girl,” isn’t really showing her grace.

Grace, I like it as a name, I knew a woman called Grace, people used to tell her that her name was well chosen. I like that in Old Testament names meant so much. It was the blessing for the person throughout their life, which is why it amazes me that people still call people by Old Testament names, I kinda want to yell, “No!” when I hear about babies being given biblical names, I worry for them. What have we blessed them with?
The Salvation Army is our name, what does it mean? I’m not an English scholar; I wonder is there any reference to grace in the meaning of salvation? Is there any grace in salvation? In Christ, yes, but in the ones “like him,” where is the grace?