Grace
I attended a conference yesterday and throughout one of a speaker's talks, he kept touching on the word “GRACE” and I wake up and see the writing prompt over at r/stopdrinking this morning:
https://www.reddit.com/r/stopdrinking/comments/7c6jer/weekend_writing_grace/
"Each person is born with an unencumbered spot, free of expectation & regret, free of ambition & embarrassment, free of fear & worry; an umbilical spot of grace where we were each first touched...It is this spot of grace that issues peace." ~ Dawna Markova
Please share -- what is your spot of grace?
I have spots
So, I am taking the cues and inputs into my one good ear and two good eyes and decided to take time this morning to reflect on “GRACE”… and “SPOTS”
When I was younger I would offer kisses to girls in trade if they got off the swings. I was really cute when I was younger and if I can remember right, I got to swing a lot. Grace.
I was 12 or 13 years old when I was running down a hill in the middle of the night, it was dark, just starlight to see by, I jumped at the bottom of the hill to land on what I thought was a drainage ditch, but as I hit a brick wall running at top speed with my entire body just below my armpits, I realized real quick it was not a ditch. Grace.
I stole a car with my friends to joyride in the hills and I got out to let someone else finally drive, he jumped the car at the bottom of the hill and crashed it nose first… right in front of a cop. I was driven home while he was driven to juvenile hall. Grace.
I had just purchased drugs (a lot) from a dealer inland and drove to the coast to begin selling it. When a friend I was traveling with noticed the same guy in both locations..(?). It was the same guy and we had been followed by an investigator who gave us a nice warning to stop doing what we were doing. Grace.
I had no money, broke, needed gas money, and I needed a place to live. Nobody (I mean nobody) would lend me any money to get to my brother's house in fear that I would spend it on drugs. My brother's friend showed up out of the blue with $20 and a bowl of spaghetti. Best spaghetti I ever had. Grace.
I was up for 5 days and drove across the country and fell asleep at the wheel toward the end of my destination. No cruise control, the car was idling down the road. A family stopped my car (matching speed in reverse I imagine) with their car as they honked and yelled I woke to see them in front of me. I said I was fine (or something like that) and traveled on. Grace.
With no insurance, I crashed my car into a guy. He was okay but shaken. His car was not okay. In the process of suing me, he and his girlfriend both died in a car accident. The case was dropped. Grace.
Attending an adult education class, a teacher suggested in passing that I might qualify to attend college for free (it wasn't totally free) and I never thought about college at all until that moment. Those 5 seconds when she talked to me about it changed my life. Grace.
I had interviewed for a job 3 times with same company in 2 years and each time I was rejected politely. They finally called to hire me when I stole one of their clients away from them. Grace.
I met my wife when we were in sixth grade. We found each other after some time apart and my life has been full of grace because of her presence, care, and love. Grace.
I was given the gift of surrender after finding that “jumping off place” where I could no longer see life with alcohol or without alcohol. This “place” was my biggest spot of grace to-date. Grace.
When I got a little time sober, I was instructed to sit each morning and consider the day ahead. Take time to appreciate my life, find gratitude, consider others, breathe, and attempt to be mindful and present etc. I would sit quietly each morning and try to connect with that sane, sober, serene, quiet, unruffled, still part of my soul. I finally found it. Grace.
Definition of grace
:unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification:
a virtue coming from God:
a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine assistance
2a :approval, favor stayed in his good graces
b archaic :mercy, pardon
c :a special favor :privilege
each in his place, by right, not grace, shall rule his heritage —Rudyard Kipling
:disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency
e :a temporary exemption :reprieve
I hope your day is filled with moments of grace today! Thanks for reading!
