Spiritual Renewal and the Art of Giving Thanks.

Love and Grace

Webster defines Grace as “a virtue or special favor coming from God to help improve the moral condition of life and bring about a spiritual renewal or revival; a privilege, mercy, a pardon.

I like to think of Grace as the mercy we are afforded as Children of God; the greatest grace being LOVE.

Most of us have heard the phrase “God is Love”.  Many of us believe that we are made in the image of God.  I like to say, “We are Children of God”.  Well, if God is love and we are Children of God, then we are children of love. And our love for God is reflected in our love for each other, because we are all brothers and sisters made in the image of God.

Let’s go further.  Many of us believe that God made all things: in nature, on Earth and beyond.  If you believe this is true, then you must believe that our love of God is reflected not only in our love of mankind, but in our love for all of nature.  Wow!  That’s a lot of love.  It is a lot of love to have, to give and to get back.  In giving love, we open the doors to receive love.

Some of you might say you have never seen God.  But if we are all Children of God, don’t we see God every day?  We see God when we look in the mirror.  We see God when we look at each other.  And if God made all things, then God is in all things.

Our opportunities to give love and receive love are unlimited.  When was the last time you gave love?  When was the last time you hugged somebody so they could feel your love, your energy?  Nobody around to hug? Hug a tree!!! Sound crazy?  That tree is alive and will feel your energy, your love just as a person will.  Try it.  What do you have to loose?  And perhaps a whole lot to gain.  Go out today and hug somebody and then go out and hug a tree.

Recently, when I was in New York, I visited a girlfriend of mine who was really depressed.  We left her office and went for a walk through Central Park.  When we entered the park, surrounded by nature, filled with fresh air, birds and huge trees, you could see her spirit brighten and a new bounce come into her walk.

That’s when I told her about hugging a tree.  She looked at me with amazement.  I’m sure she thought I was a little “off” in the head.  But I ran in front of her and wrapped my arms around the biggest tree I could find.  It must have been a hundred years old.  I was sure I felt that tree’s energy and something bubbled up inside of me.  I felt overwhelming joy and began to laugh.  Well, by this time, my girlfriend must have thought, “What the heck.  Everybody in the park is looking at us both like we’ve lost our minds, so why not”.  She stood there dressed in corporate finery, hugging that tree like a little girl; free with the utmost abandon.  I finally had to pull her off the tree so we could get to our next destination.

Love is everywhere, just waiting for you to “come get some” and to “give some away”.  Give love freely.  When was the last time you gave love with one of your great hugs; or gave love with your beautiful smile or love through your laughter?  When was the last time you hugged a friend, talked to a plant, pet an animal? Or Hugged a Tree!!!  Real Love leads you to love all things and in return open yourself up to be more loved.  Because you already possess the greatest love of all… the Love of God.

I hope this article will be uplifting and life affirming, filling you with positive thoughts to take you through your week and help you grow stronger in your faith.

In the weeks to come, let us together explore ways to find and have more Grace in our lives; to find more favor with God and with ourselves.  As Children of God we already have our Father’s favor.  Let us exude this confidence with elegance, dignity and refinement by living a Joy Filled Life. Uplifting and life affirming thoughts will bring you all the good you desire and help you grow stronger in your faith.

As children we were taught to “say grace” or give thanks to God at the dinner table for the bounty of food that was before us.  But as adults do we sometimes forget to say “grace” for all of the other special favors or gifts that God has given Us?  How about waking up in the morning and instead of saying “My God, it’s morning”, say “Thank you God for this Morning”.

It is said that “the best things in life are free”.  I’m sure that everyone of you have something to be thankful for.  How often do you take the time to give thanks or Grace?  Why not start now, at this very moment.  Start giving thanks and experiencing grace.  List 50 things you have to be thankful for.  The first thing could be for your uniqueness; for the blessing of being alive and unlike anyone or anything else in the universe, for the gift of sight to even read these words, for the ability to read and comprehend, for the opportunity to grow and develop.  You can give thanks for the person who gave you a compliment and made you smile; for the friend who sent you a card for no reason, or the neighbor who picked up trash in front of your door.  What about the meal you ate recently or the gift you received, or the person who wrote the last great book you read.  Health, friends, family, the sound of birds chirping or whisper of the wind; a sunset or sunrise or for simply being able to get out of bed this morning. 

Let us start our lessons in Grace with learning to give thanks for what we already have and grow from there.  I look forward to bringing you more inspiration over the weeks to come. Giving you ideas for books to read or exercises to do to strengthen your spiritual awareness of the Grace in your life.

 And we all have at least some of these free treasures:  How about giving Grace or thanks for life: simply for being alive.

We can start out giving Grace or thanks to God in all things, for the good that already exists in our lives.  We can thank God for blessings big & small and watch those blessings multiply abundantly.

.”  Other definitions included: elegance with appropriate dignity and refinement.  Favor, goodwill or kindness

Webster defines Grace as,” the love and favor of God. Divine influence renewing the heart. Mercy, pardon, favor conferred; a license, dispensation or particular privilege, elegance with appropriate dignity, and refinement. Favor, goodwill or kindness. A beauty or element in what pleases the eye.

Therefore, grace is “a virtue or special favor coming from God to help all of us improve the moral condition of our lives and bring about a spiritual renewal or revival”.  Grace is a privilege, a pardon.  Grace is the mercy we are afforded as Children of God.

Lorey Hayes

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