Monday Musings – Grace That Doesn’t Roll Its Eyes

 

I’ve discovered my superpower; it’s the ability to turn a simple task into a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro. I’m not a climber, a marathon runner, nor a hiker. You may see me break into the occasional jog, but that will be due to me running from something.

A bumble bee, yellow jacket, or hornet, waiting to sink its tarsal claws into a blemish free area on my body can throw me into a fight or flight motion. And that would be the first sign of my lack of grace in the physical sense.

A friend asked me to speak at their church. I accepted the assignment, confident that I could manage the task. All I had to do was speak for 12-15 minutes. However, as the date drew nearer, I had a lot of questions. Am I the only person speaking? Is there a theme? Who is my audience?

The church was a different denomination than the church I attend, I began to wonder – what version of the Bible do they use? Do they refer to Jesus as Christ, Lord? Do they make reference to God, the Mother Mary, or the Holy Trinity? By this point I’m going on my figurative journey up Kilimanjaro without hiking boots. I dove into my meditation training with a mantra, deep breaths Ang, you can do this.

My saving grace (pun intended) was that I would use humor in my talk. The only guidelines my friend gave me were – “it’s not stand-up comedy, but feel free to share stories. You can use scriptures or include a hymn, but you don’t have to.”

A hymn!? No way, I was not going to let my secret out during a first encounter. I reserve my off-key shower singing voice for the folks at my church who roll their eyes in love each time I open my mouth to sing. Eye rolling, I had come up with a way to tie in humor the topic of my talk. This blossomed into the title – Grace that doesn’t role its eyes.

God’s grace does not role its eyes at the many crazy situations we find ourselves in or the pleas we make when feeling desperate. Grace, undeserving favor that God gives us, is a gift. I am so glad to have that favor because I need it in all situations.

As I  enter the intimate setting of the church space where I was speaking, I was greeted with hugs by some of the parishioners. One of them said, “Are you the minister for the day?”

In my thought bubble I said, ooo is that what I’m doing? With a bright smile I said, “I guess so.”

The woman pointed to a high back chair up front that had a red velvet back and cushion. She said, “You can sit up there.”

In my self-talk I said, Jesus take the wheel, this is a larger role than I thought I was doing.

I prayed, took a few deep breaths, relaxed, and presented my message. God’s grace came to the rescue again. This situation that I turned into a climb up Kilimanjaro, went well.

After the church service, there was one final episode where God could have rolled his eyes. The friend who invited me to their church asked me to sign the guest book, which was on a table at the back of the room. I began to sign my name, then noticed that the title across the top of the sheet read, Potluck.

I rolled my eyes in exasperation and mumbled to myself, I think it’s time to go home. But I didn’t. I chatted with the parishioners, gave final goodbyes then went home to decompress.