Grace ... A Year in Review

2013 marks my second year of participation in One Word 365. I've never been fantastic about New Year's Resolutions - making OR keeping them. But the idea of choosing a word - just one word - and considering it all year long, is something that resonated with me.

So how was the year of grace? My ex-husband's new wife came to church with us. More than once. (My kiddos have wonderful hearts to share the news of The Gospel with folks).  And I not only survived, I actually had some conversations with her. It's only small talk, but in a world of a whole lot of hurt, small talk without tears from me was a huge step, and only possible through grace.  We had a few more interactions this year, and while still not easy (I doubt it will ever be easy), I can say for certain that having an attitude up front that I would be gracious and kind to her did make it easier. At least no tears, and the anger is gone. It's amazing how grace - coupled with time - can bring healing.

And I changed my approach with my kids. Deliberately. I think I've mostly been a pretty good mama thus far, even tackling almost all of the parenting totally on my own. But still, I saw things in me I didn't want them to know. Things I didn't want them to learn. And with grace in the front of my choices, I see this changing now - for the better. I'll call that a win.

I also tried to blog this year - at least through Five Minute Friday - which makes my brain do a little grown up, non work related thinking. I intended to do it every. single. week. (HA HA ... intentions gone awry). And then I tried to catch up when I missed. And "do better" the next week. But here's what I found. When I gave myself grace on the weeks I couldn't didn't make time to write, then the thoughts flowed more freely the next time I did sit down. And it turned into something I loved - something I looked forward to each week, instead of the almost dread I felt at the beginning. So I missed a few weeks, but I found a joy in writing - reflecting - that I didn't know I had. I'll call that a win, too.

So as I end another year, reflecting back on where I've been, I will say that grace transformed a whole lot of "could have been really bad" into a whole lot of "what an amazing opportunity". The word popped up everywhere to remind me, and there were a few days where I had to dig deep - spend a lot more time on my knees to find it - but it was ALWAYS there. And lest we end the year without one last reminder of grace, this was in the Christmas bag my girls gave to me.

Looks like a little grace goes a long way toward impacting other people, too.