Extending Grace…..

“If you judge them, you have no time to love them.” Mother Teresa

The past few days I have had numerous discussions about judging people. The theme even made into the sermon today. I always think…God are you trying to say something to us? To me? I know for me that I have wrestled with judging others over the years. And if I ever said the telling words……” I would never…..” I did.

I have judged the way people raised their kids, handled their teens, their marriages, kept their homes, handled their jobs. When I was younger I looked at some as weak, not able to make the right choice or decision. Judging takes a lot of energy and leaves little left for love and compassion.

It is from this very high place that I fell, but there is wisdom in the fall. I don’t judge as much or at least I try to remember to extend grace now. Over the years as I have aged…..life has taught me a few very tough lessons and I have had to struggle to keep my head high and remember about God’s unending grace and unfailing love. I have almost found humor in the fact that if I judged, I most likely was taken down a similar path. How soft our hearts become when someone was kind and offered a hand at the place we fell.  It is then, in this act of love that we realize that life is difficult, and maybe we really are all doing the best that we can, most of the time.

We are all broken and in need of grace. God’s and each others.  We are called to offer the same comfort that God provided us to those who suffer and are in need.
I think the rub is that we sometimes think that if we offer grace that we are saying that what others did or are doing is okay. No, we do not have to approve of the action but we are called to love the person. We are not called to judge but love and extend grace to one another.

It doesn’t matter how strong we are; all of us need care and mending at times. It takes many acts of grace, and many gestures of love to hold us together along this journey. Sometimes just a kind word , a hug or even a smile can lift someone.

Sometimes a little grace is all that we need……..