BTS: THIS is what Grace looks like!

Every time I finished a section of the my background, I couldn't help but feel like this is what real grace looks like.  

Just last night I found myself realizing how much I oppress myself for fear of the consequences of making a mistake. It took me a second to trace it to the fact that I'd learned, fairly early in life, that even the smallest mistake can be met with the harshest punishments. Grace was not a concept I saw in my day to day life and so I had no idea what it was supposed to look like in my walk with God. 

Eventually, God began to teach me that grace isn't a myth where someone somewhere supposedly pats you on the back and says "There. There. Everything is okay."

Grace is a process. Grace is God seeing you made a mistake and choosing to remain unbothered by it because He knows you're on a journey. He doesn't expect perfection but he does need you to learn from your mistakes. Grace is his willingness to help you in the areas you struggle with. But even God knows you can't beat someone into submission. Grace is his voluntary effort to take the time and explain how and why you made the mistake as if it were a series of therapy sessions.

Grace is his desire to be intimate, up close and personal like I am with my canvas. He doesn't mind that it takes you a few "passes" to get it right, come to understanding and convert it into action. The true fruit of grace is wisdom! By the time its all over, you have wisdom! about how to proceed better. Those who know better. Do better! As far as that mark on your record. To God its like "What record?"