Giving Grace

Living grace is giving grace. Especially in close relationships.

We are not always perfect in love. We do not always consider the feelings or well-being of others in our decisions. We do not always realize how our words and actions affect others. We are all going to make mistakes. We are not always going to love perfectly.

It’s sometimes easier for me to forgive the bigger things, while the small things are what get to me the most. The times when harsh words are spoken. When promises are not kept. When expectations aren’t met.

Things like this make me want to strike back somehow. And I prefer a passive-aggressive approach to making my disappointment known.

But refusing to give grace in these situations is saying that I will not ever need the same kind of grace. I am putting myself above reproach; I am saying that I am better than the person who has let me down in some way. I am letting my pride get the best of me.

Love is not proud. Love is patient, and love suffers long. Real love is painful, it makes you vulnerable; open to being hurt by those you love. It is loving though the pain, the disappointments and the failures. It is giving grace when none is deserved.

And I cannot expect to get the grace that I need, if I am not willing to give it.