GRACE TO YOU

There was a time when this was a proper greeting.

It’s still there in holy writ, notably in the many letters Paul wrote to young fledging churches with their many issues. We read them like some dated greeting, all that grace and peace stuff.

But they are not niceties, they are realities, necessary for living real.

One of the facts about life is that we all wrestle with darkness and harbour demons in the dark alleys. I have seen the darkness in my soul, and many have confessed theirs to me, a range that spans -

Losing it with our kids

Thinking of divorce

Entertaining hurtful thoughts

Fantasizing

Blaming

Ego trips

Seized by discontent

Poor stewardship

Detecting a distinct lack of love

Secretly asking, “What if i try out…?”

Yup, been there, been that.

What happens after this revelation of darkness?

Typically, we either reach for

HyperGrace — it’s no big deal, or we collapse into

UnderGrace — we are wrecked with guilt and try our best to cover it all up.

I use these monikers to represent the two common ways we respond to glimpses of what lurks beneath our respectable, put-together selves.