An Opportunity for Grace

My daughter is in her first year of band this year. For those of you who have never had a child learn an instrument...be grateful. And a huge shout-out goes to my blessed parents who survived two children who both learned multiple instruments. Bless you.

Actually, (mom brag moment here) my daughter is doing pretty well. She picked the trumpet (complete shock to me) and I was bracing myself for the worst. But it really hasn't been that bad. I'm proud of her that she's taking the initiative to learn something. She comes from a musical family, on both sides, so it's really not all that surprising I suppose.

Anyways, today was band day. Now because I homeschool, I have to take her in and bring her home from her short lesson twice a week. On those days, we have to alter our schedule a bit to fit that in, but so far so good. We went in today, I dropped her off and then proceeded to head to town to do a quick errand. But then I got a phone call about halfway into town from her, saying that there was no band today.

Hmm...I didn't get an email...no phone call...and no one seemed to know why it was cancelled. I turned around, picked her up, drove back into town, and then headed home.

There were two different reactions that I could've had for this circumstance. I could've:

1. Got really frustrated and angry that I drove all the way into town for nothing (we live out in the country) and sulked all the way home about the waste of time and gas....(and change nothing btw)

OR

2. Showed grace.


How many times do we allow little things or mistakes of others to irritate us? I'm sure we can all think of a time when someone has let us down either intentionally or unintentionally. And I know we can all recall something, which was really insignificant in the big scheme of things, that got under our skin and caused us to lose our cool. Why does this happen?

Well...it's because we are selfish sinful people. Plain and simple. Our natural tendency is to put our own selves and agendas first and foremost. When something or someone inconveniences us or forces us to change our plans (even on a very minor scale) we become agitated and often birth a reaction from that.

But what if we didn't?

What if, instead, we showed grace? What would that look like? Would that change anything? I mean after all, you would want someone to extend grace to you when you screw up...so why not do the same for others yourself?

Well, I can't guarantee it would change your circumstance or even the other person's reaction...but it will change you and your heart. When we fight against our natural tendencies and extend grace, it does something to us. It allows the Holy Spirit to come in and soften our hearts. When we do that, guess what? Others notice....because that's NOT the norm.

It also brings joy. Frustration, anger, and hatred only produce more frustration, anger, and hatred. No one enjoys being angry all the time. It's uncomfortable, stressful, and hard on the soul and body.

I chose to extend grace today :) I admit, I had to fight my natural urge to be irritated. But choosing grace was so much better. I mean...how many times have I forgotten something?? (TOO many times...it's embarrassing really.)

Can you imagine what our world would look like if we gave grace more than we gave in to our natural reactions?? So why not look for opportunities to extend grace? You won't regret it :)