GMC News
Word of the Week: Grace
Georgia Military College Prep School
Word of the Week: Grace
Week of May 1 – 7, 2016
Definition: a disposition to kindness and compassion; mercy; favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity; elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion or action
Quotable Quotes:
“The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.” – Aristotle
“Learn to… be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.” – Henri Frederic Amiel
“Life is measured in love and positive contributions and moments of grace.” – Carly Fiorina
“Grace has been defined as the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul.” – William Hazlitt
Let’s Get to the Point:
Grace is just not a five letter word. It is a virtue that we should all strive to show on a daily basis. Show it to another person, to a child, to someone in need. Do not keep it under wraps, let it shine and let the world know. We have all heard the term “they fell from grace.” We as humans know this saying to mean they have fallen from their place within society to somewhere so low that we may not even recognize them in the condition they are in. However we should use grace to be compassionate and caring to others in their greatest time of need.
Putting Words into Action:
This spring has brought torrential downpours and unpredictable weather to many parts of the central United States. Those who did not sustain damage to their property may feel that they received God’s grace during the storm. But those who had homes damaged or destroyed due to the storms received grace in other ways from those willing to help. Complete strangers dropped what they were doing and went to help those trying to rebuild their lives. When those people in Kansas or Oklahoma are looking at nothing but the foundations of their homes and someone comes up and wraps a blanket around their shoulders and holds them when they cry, that is truly showing grace for one another.
Think About It:
How do you show grace? Do you help those in need? Do you help your neighbor? Do you discipline a child with respect and dignity and not by berating them for the littlest mistake? Show this virtue to all of those you come in contact with. Do not be selfish with this virtue. Reach out to others and let them know that do care about them and show grace whenever you can. It will help those around you and be a blessing to you.
Reflection
There are many different meanings to the word grace, but to me grace is when someone does something wrong to another person and that person forgives them. That person gave them something that they did not deserve; grace. Grace is a very important word to me because not only does it relate to modern day conflicts, it also relates to how God gives us grace on a daily basis. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by the works, so that no one can boast.” This verse means that even though we sin, God still gives us grace which allows us to be forgiven even when we do not deserve it.
A couple of summers ago, I went to church camp and one of the main points of the week was the difference between grace and mercy. I was so excited to finally study more about the difference between these two words because so many people get the two words confused and use them incorrectly. Mercy is not getting something that you deserve and grace is getting something you do not deserve. See the difference? Both of these words are very important to me with dealing with my walk with Christ. When Jesus died for us, He showed grace and when we sin, if we know Him in our hearts, He shows us mercy by not giving us the punishments that we truly deserve.
American actor Bradley Whitford defines grace like no other. He said “Infuse your life with action. Don't wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen… yourself, right now, right down here on Earth.”
C/2LT Abby Houston is a student at Georgia Military College Prep School
