Grace

I have adapted this from http://connexuscommunity.typepad.com/carey_nieuwhof/

I added a few thoughts (the words not in italics)

Why is it we can treat strangers better than we treat the people we know best? Likely because we haven't judged them yet.
That's why so many couples find the early years are the best years - no long history of judgment there. What if we lived every day with our spouse like it was our first date? How about our own kids, why do we judge them with a different standard than our friends kids? Or that co-worker or boss we have worked with for 10 years? Why is it that we can extend grace to those that are down in out in society but not those that are down in out in our own family? What if we gave everyone we knew the benefit of the doubt - the same courtesy most of us would extend to strangers? What if we forgave the past in a way that allowed us to be truly alive in the present? What if we extended grace to those we love most?

Some challenging thoughts for each of us to consider today and in the days to come.