Each week we have a theme in yoga class. This week’s theme was “grace.” My yoga instructor started by saying that one of the reasons she was drawn to Anusara yoga (the kind of yoga she teaches and I practice) is because the first principle is “opening to grace.” It’s described as “having an attitude of soft-hearted devotion, and open-mindedness.” She asked us what grace means to us. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but when I did, I realized that it wasn’t an easy question to answer. Some of our responses included “love, kindness, unexpected blessings, a gift from God, mercy and beauty.”
So what is grace? To me, grace is a gift. A gift that we give and receive. I couldn’t help but think about Family Promise and the ways in which our families, staff, board members, and volunteers open to grace on a daily basis. Families trust us to walk alongside them on their journeys to self-sufficiency. We trust guest families
to share their journeys with us and show us where they need support. Guests share their stories with us. We offer a listening ear. Volunteers lovingly prepare bedrooms, signs and meals to welcome families into their congregational homes. Guests open to grace to accept these offerings. It’s a continual back and forth of love, kindness and beauty . . . if we are open to it.
Each yoga class closes with a reading or a quote. Tonight’s quote was: “Grace isn’t something you say before a meal. It’s how you live your life.”
