How often at the grocery store do you get frustrated when someone bumps into you and seems not to care? Or when your waitress/waiter aren’t the nicest or most efficient so you cut their tip?
One of the biggest lessons I’m taking from the race is the act of giving grace. The reason we’re promised eternal life is because God gave us Jesus and because Jesus died for us, we receive grace.
As humans, often times we don’t stop to see someone’s hearts behind something or learn their story, automatically we jump to negative emotions. We don’t pray that the person in the grocery store is okay or ask our waiters if their day is going okay and giving them grace and love for their behavior. We have bad days and rough times and we ask for grace in those moments, but are we always extending it in similar circumstances?
In Madagascar, the government shut down most orphanages. So in their capital city, there are kids living on the streets by themselves. Parents kick their older children out because they had a baby and can’t afford to feed everyone. My first reaction was to get angry. How could you kick your child out, what kind of a parent does that?! But then the Lord opened my heart to grace. Parents that are helpless and hopeless do that, they think they’re making the right decision and they don’t know what else to do. Maybe, my child will find work or someone to care for them. Maybe, my child will be the lucky one.
When I started understanding that, I started seeing people in a different light, as humans, we live life the best we know how. And as brothers and sisters, we’re called to love the best we know how; with the grace shown to us by Jesus, every day.
The easiest way to extend grace is by praying and asking God to open your eyes to other situations, ask Him to show you the love He has for these people, when you start seeing through the eyes of Jesus, the world gets a lot clearer.
I’m reaching the end of my time on the field, but I still have to raise $907 to be fully funded. Please consider making a donation and helping me continue my time out here on the field.
