FAY ROWE

It has been quite a while since I posted here. For those who have followed my journey this past year and a half, I just want to say thank you for your prayers and I am doing quite well!

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Last evening I had dinner with friends. After dinner, the guest of honor played a CD of a poem he wrote about his daughter. It brought tears as I thought about the years raising my own daughter — how fast they went by and what fun and joy filled those years.

Afterwards, he remarked about how in looking back over the years we tend to look at life with our children with so much grace. We easily forget the childish tantrums, the school lunches left at home, the foolish skating alone through the park in the middle of the night on youth group weekends away, the little disobediences, the lost sleep, the worries. We remember the hugs, the laughs, the pride.

As I listened, I thought about all the people, friends (or mere acquaintances) and situations that caused frustration and pain in years gone by. People and situations that, with the passage of time, have also become covered by a peaceful, gentle glow of grace. And I wonder how many perceived motivations were imagined, not real? How many disappointments couldn’t be helped? How many mistakes were made, on both sides?

How very, very much it doesn’t really matter any more!

Then, I thought about people, right now today, that I find difficulty giving grace to, and wondered: “In twenty years, will the easy grace that comes with time cover it all?”

Oh my! What if it will?

Then came the clarity of hindsight and foresight:

What if I don’t have to wait for time to pass? Why not just go ahead and practice giving grace right now?

What grief might be avoided if we all did just that?

Today, why not go ahead and be ahead of your time!

“Grace be to you, and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians, 1:3).