June 24, 2009

give out grace

the african adventure officially begins in thirty six hours and i am ready to go.

it is becoming abundantly clear that the major theme for me on this trip is grace. both accepting grace for myself and giving out grace to others. a month or so ago i was reading "what's so amazing about grace" and had the idea to write the phrase "give out grace" on my hand as a reminder of what i'm doing on this trip. sometimes it's hard to see the point of traipsing halfway around the world for a few weeks on a mission trip. couldn't the money be better spent on supplies rather than travel? but it's not about the money or the time, it's about being the hands and feet of Jesus. maybe sometimes that will be a very practical thing, like building a house that stands long after you're gone. but other times it's less tangible things...giving out hugs, smiles, and reminding people that they aren't forgotten and that someone cares about them.

the funny thing is that today, i got a little lesson in accepting grace. i met missy and sophie for lunch at pei wei. i was a little early and they were a little behind, so it ended up that i was waiting for about twenty minutes. no big deal. i had brought my computer in and figured i'd just play around while i waited. the workers were apparently very concerned about me and after asking a few times if there was anything they could get me they brought over some water and lettuce wraps on the house! since that was what i was planning to order anyway, i tried to pay them for it but they refused. a little later in the afternoon i went to my appointment to get a henna tattoo on my hand, and after having to wait awhile due to a scheduling confusion, they refused to let me pay for it...not even a tip! it hit me as i was driving home that this was a perfect example of grace being given to me.

No comments:

< > Home
emerge © , All Rights Reserved. BLOG DESIGN BY Sadaf F K.