Sometimes God shoots grace our way  when we least expect it. We might not even recognize it ’till after the fact. But we look back and realize it was this grace that encouraged us to put one foot in front of the other.

But maybe we don’t recognize grace because we don’t really know what it looks like when it shows up. Oh, we know the definition of grace, unmerited favor, but we seldom recognize it in our ordinary day.

God probably showers unacknowledged grace on us every day.

I wrote about my experience when my children both moved a long way away, all in the same summer. I talked about birds cavorting on the fence and how I felt God’s presence comforting me as I watched them play.

When I look back I realize that was grace.

We get so entrenched in the problem, we don’t see the small sliver of relief when it comes. I’ve observed it often in the people around me.  For example, I can usually tell when someone is coming out of a depressive episode before they can. I will see the almost imperceptible changes in their behavior a few weeks before they do. I will see the little ray of sunshine peeking into their lives. Their whole countenance seems brighter.

That’s why it’s important to stay closely connected to God, so that we recognize grace when it appears, not only in us but in others as well. We need to  point out some of these graces to people who are thoroughly discouraged and can’t see it for themselves.

Grace gives us breathing space for today and hope for tomorrow. 

I’ve had the same experience myself.

Right in the middle of telling my husband about my day, I grasped how monumental the experience had really been. The sudden realization that this was grace unleashed had completely been shrouded by layers of discouragement.

I felt all warm inside for the next few days as I reflected back on the experience in a new light. What I had thought was just an ordinary day had really been:

grace wrapped in the ordinariness of the day.

I’ve had many such experiences since then and I’ve learned to recognize them as grace.

God bless and I hope you have a good day.