Borrowed Words About Grace
I love the richness of language. The way a word perfectly expresses something can be artistry at its finest.
As a writer, I often find myself searching for a perfect word. When it eludes me, I go to what I think of as the well of words of others. It is usually waiting for me there.
We all love to read and share quotes from others, especially those we admire, because they help us feel connected, encouraged, even entertained at times.
As I was thinking about grace, I decided to check out some of those wells. There were some that stood out and took on their own perfect expression for me. In fact, they’ve become my journaling companion of late. Their origins go from ancient writings to contemporary teachers.
Since they may speak to you as they did to me I’m sharing them with you.
Grace
1. Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off. ~Max Lucado
2. For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them. ~Saint Augustine of Hippo
3. Grace releases and affirms. It doesn’t smother. Grace values the dignity of individuals. It doesn’t destroy. Grace supports and encourages. It isn’t jealous or suspicious. ~Charles Swindoll
4. If I’m not showing grace… I have forgotten the grace I’ve been shown. ~John F. Macarthur Jr.
5. Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; ‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home. ~John Newton
6. Grace is a power that comes in and transforms a moment into something better. ~Caroline Myss
7. Grace means that all your mistakes now serve a purpose instead of serving shame. ~Brené Brown
8. I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. ~Anne Lamott
9. Give up to grace. The ocean takes care of each wave ‘til it gets to shore. You need more help than you know. ~Rumi
10. What brings us to tears, will lead us to grace. Our pain is never wasted. ~Bob Goff
11. Grace is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now. ~Brad Wilcox
12. The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you. ~Frederick Buechner
Over the course of my life, I have come to understand grace as a way of being, even a philosophical point of view. How we rise is just important as how we fall. There are lessons all along the way.
In the end, everything comes down to grace. It’s about how we receive and share winning and losing, fortune or not, darkness and light.
It is, in fact, ultimately what defines our relationship with our Creator, ourselves, and the world.
Grace.
