When I think about the way I want to be remembered, grace is one of the adjectives I would like included in my eulogy - "She was sooo graceful", they'll say.
But what is Grace? And what makes one graceful? Is it the way you walk? Or the way you talk? Is it your sense of style? Is it your attitude in life that determines whether or not you show grace?
When I imagine a graceful person, I envision a person of confidence; at ease in every situation, amongst all types of people and of all walks of life. Someone that knows what to do and what to say at every instance. One that is genuinely interested in the lives of others. A person that has a personal and meaningful impact in the life of each person she comes into contact with.
Naturally that person would be charismatic, charming, appealing - you know the type. The one that lights up a room when she enters. The one that everyone wants to talk to or hear talk. The person that everyone aspires to be like.
We know from the Bible that Jesus was the embodiment of grace. Acts 15:11 says: But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus. How can we define the grace of God? Despite ourselves, because of his mercy and unconditional love, God will still accept us. He will be amongst us. He will reach out to us and touch our lives, giving us the opportunity to attain salvation, redemention and restoration to his favor.
Can you even fathom what it must have been like to be around when Jesus, God almighty himself, was walking on this earth. Jesus, as a I understand it, was a plain person in appearance. Yet, he drew crowds everywhere he went. He was the superstar of his time. Everyone wanted to see him and hear him. Everywhere he went he touched the lives of those who came into contact with him. He exuded grace and thereby made people feel plain good about themselves.
As moms, we often wonder if we are doing enough. Maybe it's the "Supermom" syndrome, but many of us wonder if changing diapers and wiping noses is truly making a difference. Shouldn't we be doing more? Shouldn't we be out in the missions fields reaching out to the desolate, the needy? Are we mirroring Jesus in our spit-up and banana stained blouses? Would anyone actually call us graceful on those showerless and sleep-deprived days?
We don't need to go out and seek a venue where we can be graceful. Grace is something we need to aspire to in our everyday lives. Not just to the stranger on the street or our neighbors, but more importantly to our children and to our husbands. Isn't that what Proverbs 31 calls us to be? Isn't that virtuous woman described in those verses a woman of grace? Pr 31:28 says: Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
When we're gone, who will it be, by the way, that will write and read our eulogy? I would like my children to remember me as a mom that had the best advice or always knew the right thing to say when they needed me. I would like them to believe in their hearts, and feel at all times, that I love them regardless of their failures or achievements. I would like to think that I'm making a positive difference in their lives in each moment we have together. I would hope they will say that they were glad to have known me.
The anniversary of the death of Princess Diana was this past week. Despite her own personal daily difficulties and struggles, she demonstrated a genuine concern for the less fortunate of this world. Known lovingly as the "English Rose", there are a great number of people out there that have described her as a graceful woman. The most notable of those being her own children.
Have you shown a little grace to your children today?
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