Rick & I recently purchased and watched the new movie “The Grace Card”. It is a wonderful movie about life’s struggles and learning to forgive yourself and others. The key to the movie is a simple note that an 11-year-old boy wrote. “I promise to pray for you every day, ask your forgiveness, grant you the same and be your friend always.” Now this might seem simple but I got to thinking about it in the context of this weekend with the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 and in the context of Tonia’s death. I can promise to pray for those people whom I love. I can even promise to pray for the people on the other side of the world affected by earthquakes or tsunami’s. But can I and do I prayer for those people in my life who are irritating? Those people who I look at and say, URGH!! Can I pray for the terrorists who have bombed our nation? Can I pray for the co-worker who drives me crazy when we work together?
Rick and I used to call these people, EGR’s, which stands for Extra Grace Required! That is exactly what they need and exactly what I need to give, Extra Grace! I was given this gift when Jesus was nailed to a cross and took my sins upon him. I didn’t deserve the grace yet He gave it to me.
So “I promise to pray for you every day, ask your forgiveness, grant you the same and be your friend always.”
Can I live out The Grace Card in my life. I am not sure. I know I cannot do it on my own. But through Christ I can humbly do my best every day. To the family members that drive me crazy, to the co-worker who irritates me, to our son-in-law who killed our daughter…… I promise…. to pray for you every day. I may not be able to do this but I must try!
But there is more to this card. It also says I promise …. to ask your forgiveness. Wow. I need to ask for the forgiveness of my family members who I know I hurt by my choices in the past? Even though at the time and even know the choices were the right ones? But my delivery of these choices hurt. This is the tough part for me. It means I have to humble myself before the very people who hurt me. The very people who caused me even more pain, especially after Tonia’s death. And yet….I have caused pain in my life to others. I have caused God pain as He watched one of His children fall and make bad choices. Even then…Jesus humbled himself before His enemies and asked His Father to forgive them. I can’t promise to ask for forgiveness from the people in my life …yet. I need to pray for the strength, the humbleness and the beauty to penetrate my heart.
But there is more…I promise to ask your forgiveness AND grant you the same. Grant forgiveness. This I know is a never-ending task. Daily task so I understand when it says every day I promise. Some days I forgive easily for the moment…. but I can take it away in a second when anger, doubt and despair clouds my mind. Then forgiveness gets washed away. So once again I have to give it to God and once again I have to forgive. I am very flawed in this aspect of life. I am still being refined.
The Grace Card….I promise to pray for you every day, ask your forgiveness, grant you the same and be your friend always. To be continued…..
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