On the 9th of April 2003 my daughter was born.

There are moments/memories that remain with you for life, like it was yesterday. For example, standing on the 200m starting line during the Sydney 2000 Olympics as Cathy Freeman ran, and won, the 400m final. The privilege to stand in that spot, the atmosphere in the stadium, the historical significance of it all, even when I reflect on it to this day I can feel the energy in my body respond like I was there again.

Weird to compare that with the birth of my daughter I guess, but my point being there are moments that just stay with you. That moment in Sydney would be one of them, but the birth of my daughter (and later my son) would trump them all. I remember it so vividly the moment she was born, the emotions, the look between her mother and I confirming her name, the walk to the hallway to hug my parents as I cried “Its a girl”.

Before she was born the scans couldn’t give us a definitive if it was going to be a boy or a girl, we had a boys name locked in, but we had a couple lined up if it was a girl and we couldn’t quite decide which one we liked the most. So we decided to wait till she was born before choosing, believing that when we see her we would just ‘know’. And well the moment she was born we looked at each other and nodded in a knowing agreement as her mother simply said, “Grace”. Yep Grace it was, and Grace it was meant to be.

Grace means ‘Unmerited Favour‘, underserved or unearned approval. That which affords joy, pleasure, delight, loveliness, that which gives/shows mercy, goodwill and kindness.

The Gospel (which means ‘good news’) of Christianity is the news that God loves us. Full stop. Some will go on to say that God loves us despite our shortcomings, or our ‘sins’, but I think that can subtract from the original theological intent to a point – don’t hate on me.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see

John Newton

So often when we sing this song, we think its about us, but the focus is not on us being a ‘wretch’ but on the amazing grace that saved us. That grace that led one from darkness into the light, from brokenness and pain back to life. Being loved because you ‘are’, not for what you ‘do’ is the magic that brings change.

Donald Miller writes –

“God woos us with kindness, He changes our character with the passion of His love.”

Blue Like Jazz

And Philip Yancey writes –

“I have barely tasted of grace myself, have rendered less than I have received, and am no wise an ‘“expert” on grace. These are, in fact, the very reasons that impel me to write. I want to know more, to understand more, to experience more grace.”

Whats So Amazing About Grace?

I think we could all say that we have shared it much less than we have received, and also that we are no experts on the matter. But in a world that’s dominant theme is performance and transaction, don’t we all want to experience more grace?

Compassion is nice, but it is not the same thing as grace. Compassion is a sense or feeling of pity, or sorrow, for someone and their misfortune or suffering. It is something emotive that moves our spirits and can impact our decisions. Compassion is beautiful and needed, but it is not grace. Grace in its purest form is favour regardless of whether or not you got yourself in the mess in the first place. Acts of compassion may help you up, but grace rightly understood should woo you into the light.

When I think about my daughter Grace, I think about how without even knowing it, she embodies the meaning of her name. She is sassy, and protective for sure, but I think that’s also what real grace can be. It looks to cover those it loves without excusing wrongs. But she is also quick to forgive, kind, a delight and a real joy. She is a walking billboard of the Good News.

To my daughter Grace, as I walked recently and reflected on life, where I have been and where I am now, as I reflected on family, and as I reflected on you this is what came to mind.

Your name is Grace, it was not a lucky dip, but a chosen name. It means something, it represents my heart towards you, and it is a gift you can share with the world as you journey through it. As you go about your life your name serves as a reminder to you, and an encouragement and blessing to others.

Remember that you are not the sum total of your mistakes or your achievements. Your value is in who you are, not in what you do. A side note – generally speaking when you know who you ‘are’, what you ‘do’ comes naturally.

May you remember you are favoured and approved of, may you remember you always have a place/ a home/ my arms/ to go where you can know that you are wanted, believed in, loved and valued. A place to re-centre and find your true north again if ever the chaos of the world causes you to lose your way. You don’t have to compete for my love, it is always there, a constant.

Personally I have found that with my faith in God over the years, but as I have journeyed through some dark days you have also unknowingly been that for me as well. When I felt like the world was against me, your love and belief in me reminded me so often of God’s grace. It encouraged me to continue to do the work to heal and grow, and helped ‘woo me into the light’.

So every time you see your name, write your name, or say your name, remember what it means – that quite simply there are people who delight in you for you. And as you learn to walk in that, may your life also be a blessing to others as you offer that same delight, sass, joy and favour to them as you have to me.

Being loved for who you are rather than for what you can offer is The Gospel of Grace. It’s not a transaction, it’s love.

The amazing thing about grace is that I didn’t have to change to be loved, I was loved and so I changed.