After services I stayed for a combined adult class to have a conversation with the church about that topic. What does grace look like in the home? Within a marriage? Within the relationship between parents and children?
The big point I wanted to share was that grace, for me, isn't just about the Big Forgiveness, the heroic act of extending forgiveness to each other when we screw up and let each other down. Grace is that, but when we reduce grace to the Big Forgiveness we miss how the Big Forgiveness doesn't just drop out of the sky. The Big Forgiveness is a capacity we cultivate through extending the daily, small graces every moment of every day in the home.
So grace at home, for me, looks a lot like the Fruit of the Spirit.
For example, how do you make your home more gentle? How can you become a more gentle spouse, a more gentle parent?
And from there, how about more kind? A kinder spouse, a kinder parent?
More patient?
More joyful?
More peaceful?
More faithful?
More loving?
Before it can become the Big Forgiveness, grace at home begins with these smaller, daily graces that teach us how to love.
