Grace
“Like the unexpected call of a friend just when you need it most, grace arrives unannounced. A door opens. A path becomes clear. An answer presents itself. Grace is what it feels like to be touched by God.”—Bishop Steven Charleston, Facebook Page.
I stand waiting to walk out and read the Gospel as we sing the Sequence, the hymn before the Gospel: “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind.” I glance at the last verse, and there, faintly written in pencil, just before the beginning of the last line, is the word “softer.” It is in my mother’s distinctive handwriting. I had forgotten that my mother sang in the choir at Grace Episcopal Church in Yorktown, Virginia. So this must be a directive from the choirmaster.
My mother has been dead for more than twenty years. We did not always understand each other, but when she died, I wanted to honor her in some way. I decided to start using her personal hymnal/prayer book in church.
Her name has worn off the front cover; the gold cross on it will soon be gone. The red leather cover is now coming apart, particularly the backboard of the book’s spine. I have not repaired it because, for some unknown reason, what remains of this book, just as she used it, seems to be connecting me to her.
When I saw my mother’s writing, I gasped and sent up a small prayer of thanksgiving. We had some challenging times, but I have begun to feel healing over the years since her death. This morning, in this split second, I felt reconciled with my mother and grateful for the life and support she gave me.
Healing family relationships takes time and constant prayer for family members and ourselves. Today I realize that prayer works. Attempting to connect to an estranged family member through something that the family member treasured over time works. Valuing what we have in common, rather than remembering our differences, brings healing in life and after death. For example, my mother and I shared our love of the Episcopal Church and singing in particular. Today I felt my mother beside me.
Through this realization, I experience one more way that God’s Grace continues to heal and care for us over time, if we only put ourselves in the position to receive.
It is Grace that is helping us through this time. Our only job is to look for it and see it all around us.
Bless you for supporting the ministry of our church and conference center, Camp Mitchell, on top of Petit Jean Mountain, by buying this book in the daily series of writings for the liturgical year, A Daily Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter. My mother never saw this book or the other two in the series, but I think she would have liked it. If you liked this book, could you take a brief moment to write a recommendation on its page on Amazon? More thank-you’s than I can say!!!
Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/