Grace.

Grace is a gift, a gift given to us by God, our Father. Grace is "holy", but Grace is not otherworldly in the way it works; it is right here, right now, working on us. Grace knows the harsh realities of us, of the way our world is, and Grace knows all the stuff that we carry around in our big coats with lots of little pockets of hurt, and yet it still covers us. Grace takes the blame, and wipes our slates clean, despite all that. But to say that Grace simply covers us is to sell the powers of Grace short. You see Grace is active. Grace sets to work, rolling up her sleeves and tucking her hair behind her ears. Grace finds the beauty in ugly, dirty things - Grace finds the beauty in us. Grace is much more than I could ever describe. What does Grace look like? Well, the power of Grace can be seen in the transformational power of the resurrection; what once hurt and left a mark has given birth to new life - but more tangibly, I guess, Grace kind of looks like that person you know who walks around accompanied by music; the world is still roaring around them, but it doesn't affect them so much anymore. Grace is here.

I used a personification of Grace purposefully; the name Grace is a girls name, but more powerfully, I think, it speaks of our own human propensity to take something huge - something that is completely mind-blowing - into something we can hold. In our everyday lives we do a disservice to the enormity of Grace. John Newton wrote "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, /That saved a wretch like me. /I once was lost but now am found, /Was blind, but now I see." But how often do we stop and think about those words, and really mull over the profound nature of those sentiments,"I once was lost but now am found, /Was blind, but now I see"? If the gift of Grace was really all we gave it credit for, all we built it up to be, would it have the power to turn a life around?

The subject of Grace has really challenged me in the past few weeks, and I am still struggling with it. I guess I'm just struggling to understand why I've been given it, because I certainly haven't done anything to deserve it. I think there lies the beauty of it though, we are given Grace despite ourselves. I'm trying to show Grace to others in my life and it is hard going a lot of the time, but I know in part it is helping me to understand something of what God has given me and I count myself blessed. I can only pray those around me experience a bit of what that means through me.

Youth Day and Knit-Wits! (a late post, whoops!)

Last week was week 11 of my Essential gap year, and also week two of the "Stepney Knit-Wits" - oh how time flies when you're having fun! Christmas planning for the Smart Crew performance, choir performances, and Christmas on the Farm are all underway, and the chilly weather has meant that it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas here in Stepney. I love Christmas, so I couldn't be happier with the head start, although I know that this is just the calm before the storm in the church calendar!

There were so many highlights of this week, Knit-Wits included, but I have to say, the London Central Youth Day was a spectacular thing to behold. Six of our young people headed out to Denmark Hill to the training college for a day full of fun, with the optional activities of art, dance, rapping, drumming, football, and inflatables to get involved in, as well as a prayer space, a worship band and the filming of a video to enjoy. It really was fantastically co-ordinated by Sue and the gang and it really opened our young people's eyes up to their wider community in the division, to new and exciting activities, and also to other Christian young people. After we had finished, the staff from Youth Club were invited back to one of our young people's houses for sausages, soup and sensational fireworks. It was the perfect way to celebrate the end of such a beautiful day, surrounded with those we love and serve!

Benjamin Still's accidental Teddy-Bear Y-fronts from the first week!

As I mentioned, this week also marked the second session of "Stepney Knit-Wits", which is a community knitting circle. Knit-Wits is a venture that I've really felt led to start up over this past year and it has finally come into fruition, with the support of my lovely Corps Officers, Nick and Kerry. One of the brilliant things about my particular stream of Essential is that I was already a part of this community prior to starting Essential. This has meant that this year I have just been able to focus on building up relationships in the community and growing in the family I already knew. The Knit-Wits has really grown from this family feeling, and what a wonderful family it is! It has not provided a great space for members of our church and the wider community to come together and knit, but also to use the space as a means by which they can seek support from their fellow knitters. I'm really encouraged by the way that the Spirit is moving in this group; there is just something out of this world about how comfortable our living room feels every Friday
morning. I'm so incredibly blessed by each of our Knit-Wits, they bring so much joy to my week, and I look forward to seeing how we grow as time goes on.