Thank you both - hermit and co-hermit - for your illuminating thoughts. Grace for me especially is when we are drawn effortlessly by God to God, without striving or struggle, and we thereby tangibly feel the living Presence of God in our being. - John Roger Barrie
Thank you, John. I like the image of being drawn toward the Presence of the Divine by the power of grace. I'm hoping to link some of these images together to create a working sense of what grace itself is. We'll see what I come up with!
Hmmm, initial thought: the phrase, "to have the grace to......" usually means to do something perhaps taxing (not using the words difficult or disagreeable) that benefits another person or persons, but maybe doesn't appear to benefit you in the immediate view. Of course, some of us feel that if you help someone you are helping everyone, including yourself. So, to make a long answer even longer, I'm going with your grace in the sense of gift. It's a gift to another person, but it well may be a gift to yourself, in some ways.
Thank you, Rayna. I, too, find myself drawn to the idea of grace as a gift - perhaps a gift of oneself to an other. And one is also impacted in the act of giving. We'll see where these ramblings lead...!
Thank you both - hermit and co-hermit - for your illuminating thoughts. Grace for me especially is when we are drawn effortlessly by God to God, without striving or struggle, and we thereby tangibly feel the living Presence of God in our being. - John Roger Barrie
Thank you, John. I like the image of being drawn toward the Presence of the Divine by the power of grace. I'm hoping to link some of these images together to create a working sense of what grace itself is. We'll see what I come up with!
Hmmm, initial thought: the phrase, "to have the grace to......" usually means to do something perhaps taxing (not using the words difficult or disagreeable) that benefits another person or persons, but maybe doesn't appear to benefit you in the immediate view. Of course, some of us feel that if you help someone you are helping everyone, including yourself. So, to make a long answer even longer, I'm going with your grace in the sense of gift. It's a gift to another person, but it well may be a gift to yourself, in some ways.
Thank you, Rayna. I, too, find myself drawn to the idea of grace as a gift - perhaps a gift of oneself to an other. And one is also impacted in the act of giving. We'll see where these ramblings lead...!