November 3, 2007 – Grace has all sorts of religious and social meanings. To me, it is the state of physical, moral, or intellectual loveliness, perfection of form, elegance of manners. Grace is inherent excellence, the act of rising to an occasion. Grace is the exercise of love, kindness, mercy.
  Grace in the soul is profoundly disturbed by violence and cruelty, yet sometimes, trouble defines grace, and makes it amazing.
  I am fortunate to know people who have grace. My friend Mary Kellogg the poet has grace, an inherent loveliness and elegance in her work and manner that radiates from within. My friends Bill and Maria Heinrich bring perfection of form and simplicity to their work and lives. My friend Becky MacLachlan brings grace to her faith, and her service to people and the troubled children she teaches.
  Another notion of grace, one of my favorites, is the exercise of compassion, and kindness; the disposition to benefit or serve another. My friend Anthony showed grace this week after the murder of his sister, when many would have been brought low, paralyzed by shock and grief, or tempted to run away or hide. He rose to the aid of his family, putting aside his own troubles, issues, and sadness in the service of stricken people around him, working tirelessly to tend to the detritus of death and the endless details that accompany grief and tragedy.
  It is perhaps in such moments that we measure ourselves, figure out what we are really about, define ourselves. Grace, when found, is, I think, unshakeable, and once acquired, not easily shed. How lucky I am to know people who posess it.