Grace

Growing up in the Baptist church, I occasionally heard the word "grace," but never related to it. To me the word was a cross between style, balance, and something about Jesus' crucifixion. It wasn't until Adam and I joined a Methodist church and later started birthing babies, that I really understood it.

To me, grace is getting something you don't deserve, but desperately need. Every day I experience grace in my life.

I started noticing it when I was pregnant. People would give me their seat. I would be forced by friends to sit down and raise my feet. A friend volunteered to take my hall duty so I wouldn't have to walk pregnant. My principal let me wear Adam's Birkenstocks to school every day because my feet were so swollen they wouldn't fit into anything else.

Once I had Claire, the grace extended to her. Strangers would try to comfort her when she was crying. Her daycare teachers were very supportive. When I locked her in the running car and waited for Adam to rescue me, I was offered cold water.

Sometimes grace comes with large actions, but usually I notice small, thoughtful ones. When I feel overwhelmed, someone appears to comfort me. When I've got full hands and struggle to open doors, the door always magically opens from the other side.

Recently, I was feeling sad that my parents aren't grandparents to my children. I have fond memories of both sets of my grandparents and sometimes am sad that they will never have experiences like I had. They basically only have one set of grandparents. That same day, we had to get my tire repaired at Discount Tire. Claire befriended a lady who was a grandma and was doing all sorts of grandmotherly things with her. Like I remember with my grandmother, she had a purse full of candy and surprises. She had fancy kleenexes and showed Claire how to fold them in a way to swaddle her miniature doll.

This lady eventually had to leave because her car was ready. Not 30 seconds later, another older lady arrived and sat in the same seat in the waiting room. She immediately bonded with Claire and pulled out a notebook she kept in her bag for her grandchildren. She started teaching her how to draw different animals. Paul was asleep on my shoulder during this entire experience, so I was so grateful for not one but two ladies that bonded with Claire and kept her entertained since I was held down by a sleeping child.

I was overwhelmed. Sure, my kids only have one grandmother that they see regularly, but they are surrounded by love and have countless "grandmas" everywhere we look. That's grace.