For discussion, 2 of 2

[Michael]

Have you ever met someone who lived (or lives) a life characterized by God's grace?

What is/was it about their life which makes you view them that way?

What are/were the things about their life which most impress you?

How did/do they seem to view themself?

I'd be interested in anything else you'd care to share about this person too.

In His Grace,

Michael

[jane]

Michael,

I had this foster mother but she wasn't technically a foster mother. She was a "host home". The difference being that she was licensed by the city and not the state- and there was no financial compensation for taking in children.


I was homeless my senior year in high school. I worked at Bess Eaton Donuts and slept in the storage room at night. I would show up at friend's homes like I was cool with my back pack full of clothing to wash at their homes. I showered at the high school. No one knew it. Then, about 6 weeks before graduation, the state found out. They wanted to place me into a group home in the city. I would not be able to graduate.

There was this woman that took me in through the city youth services. This woman role modeled to me what the character and grace of Christ is. I will call her Mary.

Mary married a man and had three daughters. She was a "good catholic" mother and stayed home caring for her children and house. Her husband had a stroke while her children were in gradeschool. She had to find work and quickly. She got a part time job as a bank teller making minimum wage.

Her husband was bound to a wheelchair and had brain damage. She advocated for occupational therapy for her husband, training him in simple household chores. She raised her children, prayed often and climbed up in her job. She was vice president of the branch of her bank when she took me in.

She wanted to give back to society so she volunteered to take in children after her children had grown. I always pondered the thought that she had to give back to society- life had dealt her an unexpected blow but she handled it would strength and perseverance.

Her youngest daughter married a man from Japan and she fought against her relatives for them to accept him as family.

She would bring home Kentucky Fried Chicken every Friday night because it was her husband's night off from cooking.

She taught me that a woman could love the Lord, be strong, keep her family intact through some incredibly difficult trials. In my family, the strong women hate their husbands. Not her, she LOVED him and stayed married because in her words, "my vows to him were to the Lord".

She was very private about her christian beliefs but very devoted to Jesus. She spent hours listening intently to me about my childhood and was supportive of me to finish high school.

To me it was her character and actions that made her walk a "life characterized by God's Grace"; her integrity, her committment to her promises, prayer, ability to love and listen.

It wasn't anything that she preached about it was in how she lived.

She viewed herself very humbly. She didn't see herself as strong, just as doing what it is that she was able to do. She had confidence but it wasn't in her over zealous statements, it was in her quiet acceptance of life.

She never complained or moaned about the life that she had been given, or if she did it was quietly in prayer.


This is one person in my life that has walked a life characterized by Gods Grace- there have been more but this person is the one that made the most impact upon my view of life.

jane

[Michael]

Jane,

Thank you so much for sharing your story. I am so glad for you that "Mary" was there for you. She sounds like an awesome woman. Is she still alive? Do you keep in contact?

In His Grace,

Michael

[Doug64]

Hi:

My wife and I noticed years ago (long before we left our group), that one of our neighbors seemed to embody a lot of what a christian was supposed to be. We are not aware that he and his wife attend church anywhere, and we've been neighbors for 32 years. We often commented on how he and his wife seemed more Christlike than many we saw at church.

He watched out for the little ones in the neighborhood, always ready to pump up a bike tire or adjust training wheels, etc. He was friendly and outgoing, and didn't seem to notice we had non-standard beliefs. He seemed to be everyone's 'grandpa.'

There are those in the community who don't like him much, because as a codes enforcement officer he made sure any remodeling or new structures met city codes. He served a number of years on the homeowner's board (nonpaying board) and made repairs to playground equipment without pay also.

This man is in his 80's now so is no longer active in the community.
But we think he has definitely left his mark - a positive one.

Doug

[Michael]

I tried hard to think of someone that I could write about. No one immediately came to mind. I thought harder. Still a blank.

There are people in my life who have extended grace to me, but I could not say that their life is characterized by grace. There have also been people that I have respected, but again . . .
oh well.

I continue to look for inspiration from authors like Brennan Manning, Larry Crabb, David Benner, Thomas Merton, Mike Yaconelli, and Dan Allender, not to mention the spiritual classics. In their writings I see imperfect, inconsistent, but honest pursuit of God in their daily lives.

Hmmm, I forgot about Amber in the other forum here. I see so much grace in her. I really appreciate her heart. I have so much to learn in that area. Or, perhaps it might be accurate to say that I know all I need to know, I have so much that needs to be transformed by God.

Another person in here who has ministered to me for years is Theodora. She always has a kind word of encouragement. Perhaps I see her as part of the foundation of this forum, part of what keeps this place healthy and safe.

There are others in the other forum who have extended grace to me for years, but none have touched my life in the way that Amber and Theodora have.

In His Grace,

Michael

[bad girl]

My first thought is that after my worship leader forced me off the worship team after 4 years due to a marriage problem, not wanting to hurt the image of worship at the church, my guitar teacher took me in at his church. Not only that, but he is a much better musician and worship leader in general.

I was saying, are you sure you want me? thinking they were sticking their neck out. I didn't even go to church there. He had no fear of putting me in front of people and really encouraged me to participate.

This got me through the really rough year before I realized that the church I was in was hurting me and my family.

Today, this is on my mind because I have spent a year with them and he turned me into a bass player in that year.
I had to quit yesterday because God has answered our prayers and after a year and a half, my husband is back in church, though he has chosen a different church. Fortunately, it is a good church. :)


The contrast was striking.

Pat