Full of Grace

It's been a while.  I decided (with a friend's encouragement) that I should get back into blogging.  I only have a few more months in Indy, and want to share more of my adventures.  This year I have decided to have a word that would set my intentions for this year.  Grace.  It sounds strange, but I feel like the word grace chose me.  Anna means, "Full of Grace."  I was reading the lectionary at the end of December and came across the stories of Anna and Hannah (both mean full of grace).   Anna and Hannah suffered and went through difficulty.  Hannah was barren; she faced jealousy and ridicule.  Anna had a husband for seven years.  Then he died, and she was left on the margins. Both suffered and were low on the societal totem pole.  In their situations, I bet their names felt like mocking--full of grace?  But grace and favor is what they had...and prayer.  Both prayed in the temple fervently.  Hannah has the courage to express her emotions and pleas to God and Eli.  Anna at the age of 84 sees the face of God--Jesus.  For years she is a prophet, praying and fasting continuously.  I wonder, was this her first glimpse of God--in the eyes of the baby Jesus?  Full of grace these women rise from pain and suffering to preach and proclaim the grace of God in unexpected births.

This year, my challenge and gift is to look and see the grace of God everywhere.  How do I show God's grace to others?  How do I see and receive grace?