Grace

Grace.

That word seems to be the theme of the week.

I have had a couple instances where I have found myself thinking and working over what grace really is.

Is grace forgiving AND forgetting?

What are the consequences involved with grace?
Should there be any if you truly have forgiven someone?
Even if you give someone grace, what happens with the trust in that relationship? Is it gone? Or can it be built back?

These thoughts flood my mind and heart after having just talked about grace the past two weeks at church and then hearing about an incident that happened this week with Jean Paul.

As I wrote earlier, a bunch of us went to see Jean Paul because he graduated from high school. When we got there he said that one of the students had died so they were in mourning and therefore there would be no graduation ceremony. Jen had a funny feeling about this and had the driver ask a few of the students if it was true – they said that no one had died. Jean Paul was then taken to the office to see Serge and Alain who then followed up with the story he was telling.

He continued to lie.

Apparently this has been a reoccurring issue… and it broke some hearts that he was continuing to live this way.

It was made to be a big deal for the fellow interns and I. We were told not to have any contact with him until we talked with Jen and Serge. But now we are all asking the questions of what does this look like – where do we go from here? What does the grace look like in this situation? This has happened many times before and some instances have been pretty serious – so how do you know when you can and can’t trust someone.

Especially after all the grace that has already been shown to them? Can you still trust them even after the grace has been extended – and at what point do you feel the need to extend grace but then completely detach from someone for your own protection?

I don’t think that I will ever fully understand grace, but until then, I will read the word and pray that God reveals the ways in which I need to live my life – full of grace.