Dear Grace Church Family,
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! May your time with friends and family be richly blessed. I have my aunt from Richmond, Virginia visiting. You might have heard me tell a story or two about her. When I was a child, she would bring me to church with her. I would sit in the pews and wait for her to finish practicing singing in the choir. There was a man, Mr. Willis, who would be waiting for his wife to finish singing and he would always have a pocket full of M&M packages for the kids. I always say that it is hard for me to know whether I joined the Methodist Church because of our theology of grace or my love of M&M’s.
God’s grace is such a beautiful gift for us to receive. To know that God’s arms are open wider than we can imagine, ready to receive us, no matter what the circumstances of our lives are. It’s an amazing showing of grace. The truth we are invited to live with this season is that God’s arms are not just open for us, but for everyone. We are called to be extenders of God’s grace to everyone we meet. There are people who do this so well. As I was picking up groceries at Publix, I noticed the woman checking me out was so welcoming and had such a beautiful spirit. Some people are wired this way, it almost comes naturally to them. God invites us to grow in grace.
The man I shared about from my aunt’s church, Mr. Willis, he was not big on words. What I remember about him is that his words were often like guard rails. If he noticed someone being rude or inconsiderate in the way they were speaking of others, he would have this way of guiding them back. He would say something like, “I don’t know that what you are saying is entirely true or do we have to focus on the negative. That man had a lot of good in him.” His words were powerful because he didn’t always use them. We are not perfect people, we will make mistakes, but the point of it all is to grow in grace.
As you are interacting with others this season, be praying about one way you can grow in grace and invite God to help you make changes in that area. May you witness a wonderful, spirit filled holiday.
As always, I am grateful to be…
With you on the journey,
Pastor Michelle