Grits and Grace

The sermon this morning was about joy and grace. Pastor talked about being in the south and how when you out to eat (usually needs to be a local diner) you will get 'bonus' sides.  Once they went out to eat and got a bowl of grits with their order.  When asked what they were and then told they didn't order them they were told, "They just come."

According to Pastor - that is like grace.  "It just comes."  Then you have to decide what to do with it. Take and enjoy or reject and discard.  It isn't always easy to accept. You don't know how it's going to feel. What exactly you are supposed to do with it.  What the repercussions of accepting this free gift will be.

Then the pastor talked about happiness vs joy.  I have often said that I don't care if I am happy ... I only want a bit of joy! Pastor described happiness as a sprinkler moving back and forth gently spreading happiness around and joy as a gushing spring that douses everything in its path.  That sounds a bit overwhelming to me.

When I was little, I loved grits. Then I had some that were no so tasty - they had gotten cold and rubbery. It was many, many years before I was willing to try them again.  Now I will eat them conditionally - lots of cheese, preferably with some bacon, eggs and shrimp thrown in for flavor.  That can happen with grace. We accept it and then something happens and we reject it.  Accepting it again is hard. It takes trust and belief.  Easier said than done when those have both been violated.

"It just comes." Then what?