Grace, unmerited favor, that God surrounds us with all the time. We pray to have eyes to see grace in action in our lives. Hopefully, we can remember that by God’s grace, we are all we need to be, set apart for a sacred purpose, as we move through the circumstances of our lives. I have come to know that faith begins in the practice of everyday life. The ups and downs, joys and sorrows, triumphs and stumbles, I face each day are the source of my deepest learning and growth. God’s grace and mercy are mine in abundance, but sadly too often, I forget this, becoming overwhelmed with the tasks ahead and often an endless fatigue.
We know as caretakers, we don’t have to hunt for woes, they are all around us. Gratefully, when I spend time with the Lord, being infused with grace, I recognize that it is faith and grace that will cause me to go forward, to try new things, to believe that fear cannot overcome faith. It takes discipline and constantly approaching God’s throne of grace, where we receive mercy, that we don’t deserve, but know with certainty, we are being covered with. It is always about love and while I can’t ‘fix’ the situation for the loved one I am caring for, I can be ‘present’ and tender toward what is right in front of me, believing this is where God has called me to be, at least ‘for today.’
There are many signs of God’s love and mercy in our daily lives. Some of our friends and family members call us to growth. They support us when we are down and cheer for us when we achieve. They can challenge us to see new possibilities for our life and remind us to trust we are not alone on this journey. Spending time studying Scripture, in reflection and spiritual reading strengthens our faith for the necessary ‘waiting’ till we receive timely help.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Christian mystic, had the conviction that faith is not something we do. It is a call to step out of the boat onto the ocean of love and discover, all our fear and skepticism, to the contrary, that the water ‘does’ hold us up. Can we embrace the life we have, trusting God’s grace and mercy will carry us through the situations we encounter? Feeling God’s presence is simply a matter of awareness, of enjoying the now. Life is filled with moments of letting go, something none of us do easily. I believe letting go is an act of faith in the divine process of growth, even when we might have to be uncomfortable to grow. Can we hope in the days ahead, not to cling to the past or fear the future because something greater is unfolding in us now, as God’s grace and mercy permeates our lives and the lives of those we love?