photo by By andrea.rose

Radical Grace

The short prayer before a meal.

The period provided after a bill is due and yet not late.

Favor, goodwill.

Elegance, beauty in action.

Luther’s 95 thesis, the Protestant Reformation.

Grace. Graceful. Full of grace. Are we? Are we liberal in dispensing undeserved favor? What is our tendency; to criticize or honor, to be generous or scarce, complaining, judgmental and skeptical?

Are we likely to give second chances or not? Do we forgive liberally? How radical are we when it comes to living gracefully. Being full of grace?

Grace; undeserved, unmerited favor.

It has been said, as a man sows, so he will receive.

I grew up in the shadow of a woman ( my mom; Rosalie Hoelzle) who modeled grace. I didn’t know it then but beauty had a name, a life. Elegant in spirit, full in the soul I watched as my mom liberally applied grace to all that was undeserving in her life. Being with her was easy. Comfortable. Accepted. A wide berth. She gave it to me. She modeled how to give it to others. I never sensed criticism in her. Although I tended toward perfectionism and all sorts of legalistic rules this was not her nature. She honored differences, respected the individual. Over the years I became a believer, a believer in love, God, faith, the ‘golden rule’ ‘doing unto others’- mostly because I’d experienced a life transformed by Radical grace.

You too, I imagine, have encountered people like my mom. People who are radically graceful. Full of radical grace. Someone who is comfortable with their beliefs , themselves. A person who can’t help but accept you as you are, warts and all.

People who dance through life in unison with their Creator, whose elegance, beauty and lack of expectations and judgment set you free. People who allow you to fall down, get back up and keep going. People who expect things to be messy, imperfect and human.

These individuals have been on the receiving end of grace- and radically changed. Radical grace, is life altering.

Life is messy. Imperfect we are. God knew without grace we’d never make it.

I don’t know about you, but I need a wide bumper of grace surrounding my every action, deed, word, I need unmerited forgiveness, liberal understanding, compassion, beauty, favor and acceptance.

Radical Grace. I want it. I want to give it away. I want to be it.

Pam Hoelzle

pam @ Pam hoelzle.com

Learn more about me here