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Grace, Grace, and More Grace (in unexpected places)

It started as an uneventful day, sightseeing with friends in Sarasota, Florida.

On impulse, we turned a corner and found ourselves in front of the Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy.

Hmmm.

Intriguing name.

We were not on a tight schedule.

Why not.

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Grace, Grace, and More Grace (in unexpected places)

Soon we were strolling into lush gardens dotted with fanciful art and playful sculptures.

Some figurines were hanging from tree limbs, and others were entwined through crawling
vines. Sunlight flickered through bushy foxtail palms, dancing and tickling over blue
cows, pink dragons, and red monkeys.

Ribbons of curvy, thick branches, radiating from massive tree trunks, ran throughout the gardens. They undulated up and down and over purple tigers and shimmering butterflies.

I tilted my head in varied angles to take in all the quirky colors with playful abandon.

Energy shot through my outstretched arms like electric stars. I felt as though I swallowed up the sun. My spirit twirled me round and round. I imagined myself doing the Julie Andrews spin on top of the Bavarian Alps.

My brain tried desperately to hold on to the ride.

This was a pivotal experience for me.

Certainly, I have enjoyed beautiful gardens and childlike fantasies before, but this was different. It felt like a rearrangement of thought.

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An Awakening to Grace

I think my angels guided me to this place.

I was struggling.

Painful memories kept replaying in my head, over and over, like a psychological earworm, laden with harsh, accusatory self-admishments.

The simple truth was this: years ago, I said and did things I would like to take back and it pained me to know that some of my words pierced the skin and drew blood.

I have sought and received forgiveness from those I hurt.

I have felt the healing power of God’s grace.

And, I have forgiven myself hundreds of times, hoping the last one will stick. But something else lingers on—maybe guilt, or regret.

Am I not fully embracing the gift of divine grace or is that just another failure? Isn’t it natural to regret mistakes?

Delving into the realm of self-forgiveness and grace, more questions emerged.

Is regret just part of the ashes that remain after forgiveness?

Is there a second and third act after remorse?

What am I missing?

Am I harboring a propensity for self-imposed penance, even after forgiveness, with endless self-cross examinations:

How could I?

Why didn’t I?

Why didn’t I know better?

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Is regret just part of the ashes that remain after forgiveness? Is there a second and third act after remorse? What am I missing? Click To Tweet

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Let There Be Light and Grace

In the dancing light of the Museum of Art and Whimsy, with its playful imagery, my brain
erupted into an avalanche of awareness. Genesis 1:3. Let There Be Light, and there
was Light.

I thought of The Shema, the Jewish prayer celebrating and thanking God for creation.

And, I recalled a verse in Second Timothy that grace was given to us by Christ before the beginning of time.

And right there, in all this commotion of my senses, the words grace, light, and creation fused and became inseparable. Time evaporated and I was experiencing creation, not as a ‘one-and-done’ event, but as an ongoing, spontaneous, emergence of light.

And in that light, seemingly created for me, was boundless grace.

That is when I knew, really knew that grace is ongoing, and my story is ongoing.

In that whimsical garden, where yellow mushrooms sprouted like moonbeams, and colors twirled me around like a child’s spinning top, I found my rebirth, my big bang.

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And in that light, seemingly created for me, was boundless grace. That is when I knew, really knew that grace is ongoing, and my story is ongoing. Click To Tweet

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Show up for Your Own Re-creation Story of Grace

For me, the full spectrum of grace reveals itself, through nature, loved ones, music, or creative art. In light, there is no room for regrets. Remorse could not live in this
empowering environment.

Regrets cannot bore into or metastasize my core.

Consider Peter, one of Jesus’ early disciples.

Following the arrest of Jesus, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. Imagine the remorse he carried, the three denials that he could not take back.

But Peter’s failures were not the end of his story.

He chose to be present in his rebirth, his own creation story. He became the Rock, upon which Jesus would build his church.

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But Peter’s failures were not the end of his story. He chose to be present in his rebirth, his own creation story. He became the Rock, upon which Jesus would build his church. Click To Tweet

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What about my grace story?

Still wondering about the threads that weave whimsy, light, and grace together, I searched for additional insights from other walks of life. I was not a lone voice in this quest.

My search found poets, musicians, photographers, artists, and writers who channel grace and whimsy.

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Bob Goff, author of Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World, wrote:

“Whimsy doesn’t care if you are the driver or the passenger; all that matters is
that you are on your way. . .. every day God invites us on the same kind of
adventure. It’s not a trip where He sends us a rigid itinerary, He simply invites us.
. . full of abandon, whimsy, and in love.”

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Resurrection Fern

As I complete some final thoughts on re-birth, I am feasting my eyes on a large cluster of vivid green leaves meandering along the thick branches of the live oak in my backyard.

Those vines were not there yesterday. Resurrection Fern, shriveled and dormant, typically looks dead and is hardly noticeable. But within 24 hours of a rainfall, it rebounds into a vibrant, leafy plant, covering the branches like strokes from a lush green paintbrush.

My lessons from this journey are that I can rebound and sprout new growth, even after my darkest hour.

I fail. I have failed. And, I will fail.

There.

I have conjugated the present, past, and future of my human condition.

But my story is ongoing and so is yours.

The important thing is not to miss the next act of your own story.

I plan to show up . . . as a participant in my own creation story . . .

And to twirl . . .

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But my story is ongoing and so is yours. The important thing is not to miss the next act of your own story. I plan to show up . . . as a participant in my own creation story . . . Click To Tweet

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“He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”

(2Timothy 1:9)

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About the Author

Dr. Gloria Hill is a seeker who dives into spiritual journeys, using gardens and the natural world as her muse.

Her lyrical writing includes a 360-degree approach to spiritual growth, citing researchers, writers, and scripture.

You can connect with her at gloriasstories.com!

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