Grace

I was talking to a coworker recently and she told me that she was struggling at home. She hadn't gotten much sleep and knew that she would be performing subpar. She asked me to "offer her some grace." I had never heard the word "grace" used outside of the church context. Somehow, viewing grace as something that we could offer each other changed the way I view grace. It is a tangible thing that allows us and others the ability to be human and to make mistakes.

None of us deserve grace. We don't offer each other grace, forgiveness, a pass, or a pardon because we deserve them. We offer these things as gifts. Each time we give the gift of assistance, we take part in grace. As we learn to offer grace to others, we understand the giving part of the Atonement. Somehow, in my coworker admitting her vulnerability and her lacking, she made me see her as strong and made me want to help out.

I think the same thing goes for the grace of God. As we open up to the Atonement and admit our own faults, we allow the grace of God to make us whole. We allow our weaknesses to become strengths. I am so thankful for the grace and the saving power of the Atonement. I am well aware that I need the power of the Atonement in my life daily. Thankfully, we are promised, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness...that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9). May we all internalize the promise that Christ's grace is sufficient for all of us.

Jessica Przybyla