Grace can be defined by many ways, here are just a few from the Christianity section on About.com “Grace is God’s unmerited favor. It is kindness from God we don’t deserve. There is nothing we have done, nor can ever do to earn this favor. It is a gift from God. Grace is divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration (rebirth) or sanctification; a virtue coming from God; a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine favor.”

Things happen and we don’t know why. Things go wrong and you’ll often hear that that things happen for a reason, good or bad. Today was that day for my wife and I, as over the last few days we’ve talked a lot about her mom and her mom’s death.

• My wife decided to visit the garden at the church that we attended and sit on the bench and have a few moments of quiet time.
• While she was doing that, without talking with my wife, I was listening to the memorial service for her mom. I don’t know why, but I just had a feeling that I needed to listen to it today.
• As my wife was sitting on the bench, she texted me to tell me where she was and I responded that I was listening to the sermon.
• An hour later, a co-worker brought my wife a bottle of tea, as my wife looked at it, the name of the tea was the same name as her mom.

Were all of these things just odd and happenstance? Maybe, or maybe they were signs of Grace, a kindness that we don’t deserve?

Tonight, as I went to put the boys down, they were a little fussier than usual. They did not go down as fast as they normally do and that was ok, I was perfectly happy to rock them tonight. Tonight, I needed to hold them a little longer. Give them a few more kisses goodnight. And as I laid in the floor with Baby A, Baby B grabbed his pillow, bunny and blanket and snugged up to me on the floor. And as I watched him drift off to sleep, ever so peacefully, Baby A reached over and held my hand and he did so until he fell asleep.

For me, Grace is a gift. A gift that is done and provided so innocently. A gift that is given to us at a time that we need it the most. A gift that can sometimes not be explained. So, as I looked back on the day, the sermon especially, I thought about my wife’s mom’s death and thought about three of the most visible signs of Grace to me.

1. How could God take my wife’s mother so soon. And yet, it is through Grace that we were not faced with having to make the difficult of end of life care decisions.
2. I struggle in knowing that her mom will never know our children and yet, I take comfort through Grace, in feeling as they she has already met them.
3. I weep when I think of the number of lives that she touched in her short time on earth and it is through Grace, that I take comfort in the fact that on the night of the visitation, over 1,500 people came to the church to spend 15 seconds with us and say a kind word or share a memory with us.

Grace. It is a small word that can mean so many different things to different people. But to me and especially today, Grace got me through a difficult day.