Definition of Grace
A Basic Definition—lexical
The Greek word for grace is caris. Its basic idea is simply “non-meritorious or unearned favor, an unearned gift, a favor or blessings bestowed as a gift, freely and never as merit for work performed.”
Sticking with the traditional definition of ‘Grace’ I’m going to answer today’s Joy Dare with 3 literal gifts I have received from family.
1. After moving into our new and long awaited home, my Sister in Law, Ruthie, gave me this plaque. It sits on my windowsill just above my sink. Every time I see it, I can’t help but hum the old hymn. What a gift. It points me to my Lord with these words…
"Great is Thy faithfulness!" "Great is Thy faithfulness!"
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
"Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!
2. Another ‘house warming’ gift I received was the literal gift of warmth. My sister and her family gave us this fire pit when they came over on Christmas Eve, one week exactly after we’d moved in. They even brought firewood so we could light it right up and enjoy the God-given warmth of fire, and the heart-warmth of family gathered around it.
3. The next Grace I received from people I loved is the gift of laughter from my family. We have some strange and silly traditions in this family.
First, my Mother in Law is quite the jokster. She has bought every family member (and then some!) a gnome. Our gnomes are of the roaming variety. She tends to move them around to odd places when she’s here visiting. Other, younger, members of the family have joined in the game and now my gnome ends up in some very odd palces. This is where I found Harold the Roaming Gnome after my twin nephews left the other day.
(The PukPuk is up at the top of the window. Sorry, not the best shot.)
Second, we have the odd tradition of ‘The Golden PukPuk’ . PukPuk is Iatmul for Crocodile. Iatmul is a language group in Papua New Guinea. My In-Law’s translated the Bible into their laughage. When they came home from New Guinea, they brought several artifacts including many PukPuks. This particular PukPuk was painted gold and somehow finds its way into the newest house in the family. I turned around one day after getting something out of my pantry and lo’ and behold, there was the Golden PukPuk. He was last residing in my Brother-in-Law Eric’s house, so I suspect Eric helped it find its way to my window. It makes me smile every time I see it.
And finally, my other Sister-in-Law Rachel gave me this sign. She bought it a while back and held onto it for a long time in faith that one day I’d have an actual laundry ROOM to put it in. Now I do. I love it. Also, I am really hoping NO ONE takes the sign seriously. That could be awkward.
I love my family. My side, my husband’s side, and those we’ve grafted in. My cup overfloweth.
(January's Joy Dare Daily List)
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