When dreams of bright success have stumbled on the hard edge of reality . . . When every scheme for fame or followers has left the needle where it was . . . When all the crowd who live for now have gone on dancing down the boulevard—just then we learn the value of the love that won’t let go.
It’s father in the driveway saying softly as we pack, “You can come home again.” A colleague asks us on the elevator ride, “Are you OK? When would you like to talk?” A high school friend calls from a time zone far away to say, “I pray for you each day. What do you need just now?”
We learn the ceaseless grace of God from people still receiving grace. Their patience—their persistence—through the twists of all our wandering gives substance to the truth we read in Scripture: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end” (Lam 3:22). From heart to heart and hand to hand, we practice love that rescues us.
And one day soon, we will be saying to some other soul—“What do you need just now?” “When would you like to talk?” “You can come home again.”
The grace we share is grace we’ve learned. The kindness never stops with us.
So stay in grace.