grace

Every once in a while I like to give my kids a little lesson in grace. 

Grace: undeserved favor, or getting something that you do not deserve. 

The other day my daughter could not find her wallet. We were heading to Target or some place similar and she was desperately searching for her wallet that might have a tad bit of change in it. She was quite distraught...which doesn't mean a whole lot in our house because she often runs in "drama overdrive." 

The entire 15-20 minute drive to the store, she was so disappointed. So sad. So frustrated. I listened to her whine and moan and complain. Again, this is a usual occurance in our home as she often takes a small thing and turns it into some life-threatening situation in her mind.

(I'm not over-exaggerating. My daughter will someday be an amazing actress or very convincing lawyer. I know there are great things in store for this little girl - her personality is proving her potential everyday! But unfortunately God put me in charge of shaping her and I'm pretty sure I'm not qualified. So glad He's guiding me! And now to get back to the point...)

I managed to keep my calm and not pull my hair out on the drive over and I came up with a plan to demonstrate grace to her. 

I happened to have about $3 in change in my pocket. Once we pulled I to a parking spot, I pulled it out and gave it to her. She kinda looked at me in shock and asked why I was giving it to her. 

She knew she didn't deserve it. Not only had she not earned it, she had acted like a sad and mournful little kid making her brother and me both miserable for the while ride. 

So we talked about grace. 

Undeserved favor.

Then I asked her how she felt after getting the money: grateful. 

And I elaborated. I wanted her to see that when you are grateful for grace, you are more willing to try and please the person who showed it to you.

Jayne knows about the grace that God showed when He sent His son to take every smudge of sin off of us and provided us with our only way into heaven. It's something we've talked about many times. 

But to feel it. To get a little glimpse of what our hearts should be full of: gratitude. That is a valuable lesson because it takes what she knows in her mind and applies it to her heart. 

And that feeling makes all the difference in a relationship with a God.

KC