John 1:16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
Grace upon grace. Oh man. Grace is such a beautiful thing. I’ve learned so much about grace here in Mexico. Learning a new language through immersion is such a humbling experience. There are days when Spanish flows out of me, and then, there are other days when I just have this blank stare on my face.
The most beautiful thing that I have experienced is grace from my students. I can’t even begin to describe how much grace they have had for me. I’ve never felt humiliated around my students when I spoke Spanish around them. EVERY SINGLE TIME, they have given me so much grace as they corrected me or helped me with my Spanish. It would seem as if this would be the attitude of the majority, but it hasn’t been in my experience.
There have been many times where I found myself silent because I would rather be mute than be humiliated. There have been eyes rolled when it appeared that I didn’t understand something. My accent has been mocked. People have laughed when I didn’t understand their sarcastic jokes. Hence, with that said, I have appreciated the unbelievable kindness my students have shown me every single day.
It’s unbelievable how these tiny humans can give an incredible amount of grace. If these students can give me this much grace, oh man, how much greater is the grace from God.
Rosalba, Jose, Brianda, Eduardo, and Alberto (my taco friends) have given me so much grace as well. I find myself at their taco stand, not just for their tacos, but for the conversations. Believe me, their tacos are the bomb dot com; however, the conversations that I have with them is always the best part of my day. I go for the conversations and the tacos are the cherry on top! They have poured out so much love, I feel so safe and welcomed when I talk in Spanish with them. I am never afraid of making mistakes with them. (I’m literally in tears right now because of everything that they have done for me.)
Rosalba, the mom, consciously slows down her speech so that I understand everything. When I do not understand everything, she rephrases everything or uses the English that she knows. Brianda, who is very close in age with me, has talked with me with so much patience and grace. I especially love talking with her because I get to talk about “girl things” with her. I enjoy talking with Jose (the dad), Eduardo, and Alberto as well.
[Pictured here] Today, I was “stuck” at their taco stand for about an hour because it was pouring cats and dogs. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I enjoyed every second while the rain was down pouring. Of course, I jumped a couple of times when the thunder sounded. Apparently, the constant thunder is normal here.
Oh man.. grace is such a beautiful thing.
Ephesians 2:1-10
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.