This is a true story about a lady named Grace, but it is also a tale of grace.
In August, in our little village, some magic happened.
I’ve become jaded from years in journalism and despite enjoying uplifting podcasts and YouTube videos as antidotes to the sturm und drang of a world fed on fear, I prefer face-to-face, in-person or “fully verifiable because it happened to me or someone I know” stories.
This is one of those. And I’ve told Grace that she will be featuring in today’s column, which is why she asked that I not use her real name.
“Call me Grace,” she said sweetly, “because this is not about me, but about the grace that is available abundantly to all of us, at any time.”
About two weeks ago, a local resident was in a financial pickle.
She didn’t have two cents to rub together and she had a big, bogeyman-type bill to pay.
There was no option to defer and she happened to mention her predicament, purely in passing, to a close friend of mine, Sal (also not her real name).
Sal, who herself had precious few cents to rub together, dug around her bank account and withdrew the savings that she’d been carefully hoarding to pay tax.
She gave this money to the good friend, because it was needed.
The good friend was overwhelmed, but accepted the gift with grace and gratitude.
Fast forward two days and Sal found herself in a financial pickle.
Someone had skipped a large payment owing and Sal had run out before month-end.
She mentioned this in passing to Grace, as part of a general conversation about “the way of the world”.
At no time, during any of these conversations, did anybody expect anything of anyone.
Three women — one a mutual friend of both — simply shared their circumstances for the purposes of offloading and de-stressing.
Four days, almost to the minute, after Sal had secretly given her savings to the financially pickled friend, a wad of paper-clipped grocery vouchers was delivered to her by Grace.
Now Grace didn’t know that Sal had parted with her savings to help a friend — she only knew that Sal had run out of month-end money and wanted to help.
It was therefore mystically appropriate that the grocery voucher amount was identical to the amount originally gifted by Sal.
“Let me tell you a story,” Sal said to Grace, and Grace wasn’t surprised or amazed at all by the string of apparent coincidences.
“From heaven to you, my friend,” she told Sal, “and may you continue to be blessed.”
Sal decided to use some of her vouchers for a Sunday roast with all the trimmings — not having to worry about the cost of beef, or lamb, just this once.
“Isn’t it appropriate that you thought of a Sunday roast,” Grace said, when Sal told her.
“Think of what that symbolises, and of all that we feel we’ve lost, or are clinging to, in this crazy world today: family and friends.”
Sal was amazed that the money she’d given away came back to her in less than a week.
“That’s how it is,” Grace said.
“And enjoy your Sunday roast — enjoy the togetherness that brings and may it continue to bring blessings not only to you, but to everyone you meet.”
HeraldLIVE