Few songs have been recorded and sung by more artists than Amazing Grace. It is one of those hymns that the majority of people actually know well enough to sing during a church service. If you like to Google, you can read two very interesting verisions of the story behind its writing.
What is your first thought or image when you hear the word Grace? My mind immediately pictures a dear friend named Grace. Some people’s names just seem to describe them perfectly. Everyone who knows her would agree that no other name could ever do her justice. Her beatiful smile lights up any room she enters. Her marvelous sense of humor and positive approach to life wins friends everywhere. But her “grace” and composure hide the political and racial discrimination she experienced as a young women. Born a Japanese-American, her world changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor when Pres. Roosevelt authorized the incarceration of more than 110,000 citizens. Today, at the age of 92, she keeps a schedule that puts me to shame! In mid-May she came to Winterset to tell her story: it was her 7th program that week. She is upbeat and positive. Many are amazed that she holds no bitterness. One of the chapters in the book I wrote tells about Grace and how she is totally forgiving.
St. Paul began many of his letters with the words: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Simply put, my friend Grace is a living example of how grace is God’s personal gift to us to help us. There is nothing we have to do to earn it but we must embrace it. This month, try to focus on how you can add more grace to your life by forgiving someone (or yourself) and accepting God’s gift to increase your feelings of peace.