Grace of the Spirit

Grace seemingly had a lot of problems in her life. She didn't have many friends. In fact, she didn't have any friends. She was really bad at school work! She usually got terrible grades in her class tests. It all made her a bit depressed, and she felt like life was indeed unfair...

She felt she was frustrated and wanted something else in life.

One day, she saw an old lady on her way to school. The old lady was seated on a bench and was praying the rosary. She knew what it was because she had seen her mother praying the Rosary almost every day. The rosary seemed to be a beautiful blue colour and it sparkled in the sunlight. The scene seemed very picturesque to her. There she was, this old lady, who was connecting with her God. She wondered if the old lady was ever good at schoolwork, and whether it mattered.

She seemed to be the type who had made a lot of good choices in life, and now was just another happy old lady praying rosary in public but of course people didn't care because she was just this old lady, praying the rosary like Grace mother did sometimes.

She thought about her life, and the direction in which it was headed. She decided to sit down near the old lady and try and talk to her.

" Hi " Grace said.

" Hello " the old lady said in return. She seemed friendly.

"Are you saying the rosary?" Grace asked with a look of confused curiosity on her face.

"Yes, I've been praying the rosary every day for the past 40 years. I like to find different places to do it. It gives me a feeling of fulfilment. I like to pray in Church as well. Do you go to Church?"

"My parents like to go, but I don't usually accompany them. I often used to tell myself that I was too young to think about being spiritual. Though, these days I've been wondering about the purpose of life, and I decided to 'seek' more answers to life's big questions. "

"God knows what you want even before you ask him! Try and find him, and you will see that your life will change" the old lady told her.

So one day Grace decided to do something differently! She decided she needed to go to Church. Nothing else was working for her. She found a church that was close by. It was just a hop, skip and a jump away from her home and she always knew it was there and felt curious about it, but never went.

She reached the Church staircase and walked up the steps. Soon she was inside.

She saw many benches inside, filled with people. There were lots of beautiful images of the Virgin Mary. She decided to sit down on a bench where there weren't many people, so that she wouldn't look too awkward.

There were indeed a lot of people around her. There were a lot of women there, their hair was covered with veils. She also saw children and their parents. She was the only person who had come alone. She saw some women kneeling, she wondered if she should too.

The atmosphere in Church was very calm. There was a quietness there that made her soul feel at ease. She felt very much at home. Suddenly the priest started to say something like "In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" She had seen her mum cross herself, so she did the drill. She felt it was nice to be part of the group.

She remembered reading the psalms of David as a child as part of a Sunday School exercise. There was a lovely young woman singing the very same text in a very beautiful voice. Grace was enjoying her first time at mass, and she rather enjoyed the experience!

Soon the Mass ended. Grace decided not to tell her mum why she was late that day after school! She knew her parents wouldn't really mind, and rather would be happy for her. Still she decided to keep it a secret! She didn't want any one to know! She knew that if she told her she'd have plenty of questions to ask. She decided that since it was a new habit she didn't want her new found feelings to ever be discovered.

She pictured herself attending the Sunday Mass with her mother. Suddenly the thought didn't seem that uninteresting. It seemed practical-but she wanted to figure out for herself what it was about first?

She went to school as usual the next day. She went straight to her locker, and opened it. She kept a scented candle that was lying on a table at home in a corner of her locker. The candle had the words "Peace" inscribed on it. She had always felt drawn to it, and somehow even felt a deep reverence for the words on the candle. She then shut the locker door and proceeded to class.

The class bully was, as usual, at her back. She thought about the words she heard at Mass, and decided to think of the bully as the devil, and it made the experience a lot more bearable.

As days went by, she felt like she was better able to read her textbooks, and was more attentive in class. One day a surprise class test came up. Grace managed to get a 'B' grade! She was so excited, she decided to tell her mum. She had been getting alot of 'D' grades, that her mother wasn't too happy about.

No sooner she reached home, she told her mum about the B grade she achieved. Her mother was surprised. "I'm so glad for you honey!" she said.

"What's your secret?" Mum asked Grace.

"Mum, I worked very hard, and I know you won't believe me. I've been doing much better at school, ever since I started going to Church. I actually feel like doing the things the Pastor says, and I feel like my life has changed ever since." Grace replied.

"Oh that's wonderful sweetie. When we grow up, we start to realise that there's so much more to life. When you see the big picture, you start to see things in a new light. Life is not all that it seems. When you are young, you don't usually think about these things. I wish I started being a practising Christian earlier in my life. I think my life would have been a better experience, and I would have had more fulfillment in my life. There are a lot of things I would have done very differently. Grace I'm happy for you, but there are chores to do! It was nice talking to you sweetie." her mother said.

"Need help mum? I know I never thought doing chores in the past was cool, but I'm starting to think that helping others is not such a bad thing! At least the Pastor said so!" Grace cheerfully replied.

"I know you must be tired. Why don't you go relax in your room?"

"Aww, thanks mum!" Grace said and ran up the stairs.

Grace went straight to her room. She decided to sit on her bed, and reached for her Bible which was in the book shelf just next to her. She opened the little book and started to look for psalms of David like she heard at Mass. She read the story of a King in ancient times, who sought wisdom, to win battles, and better manage his kingdom. She realised that it was indeed a book about Love, War, Intrigue, Beauty and Truth.

She fell asleep in the midst of it, she had been reading for quite a while.

She dreamed a beautiful dream about a handsome king. He was wearing a white robe and had a red sash, and a crown on his head. He said "Grace..."

She woke up suddenly and looked around, that dream was too beautiful to be real! She decided to open the Bible and read more about the story of Christ. She liked reading up on things that made her curious. She liked the line "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

As time passed by, she realised that she didn't want to listen to jarring punk rock like she usually did. She decided to stay away from anything that distracted her from the present moment, and started to be very grateful for the little things! She decided she wanted to be more mindful of her life, and reading the Bible was certainly helping!

Even her mother wondered whether it was indeed the work of The Spirit that was inspiring the change in Grace's attitude to life. She noticed a vibrant change in her daughter, and they started to see a glow on her face, rather than the quiet girl she used to be!

Grace started to shine in her own way. People around her noticed that Grace was indeed growing into an attractive and intelligent young lady. She was less interested in things which seemed empty and pointless like being popular among the other students. She also felt avoiding smoking, drinking and doing drugs was a lot easier. She decided to surround her self with decent Christian friends.

Years later, Grace graduated from with honors from college. She continued to do marvellous things with her life. She attributed it all to the Glory of God, and had great hopes in life because the fire that burned inside her, was greater than the fire that was around her. Even today people say she is a Spirit filled person who touches the lives of the people she meets with her wisdom and kindness.

Grace is indeed Spirit-filled, and will continue to be.