I write about my dogs all the time. But there are other special creatures in my life. One of them is Gracie, a.k.a. Miss Grace, a.k.a. Grapenuts. I’m not so sure how that last nickname came into being. How do they ever? A true nickname isn’t thought through, it just sort-of happens.
Here’s the neat thing about Gracie. She is my reminder about God’s grace. And so I think her name wasn’t a coincidence. Truth be told, most people would say Gracie is rather a pill. She is a vocal cat who voices her displeasure. Touch her the wrong way, look at her the wrong way, heck just be in the same room with her sometimes and you can get an earful. I ask you, can’t we all be like Gracie at times? And yet, I love her dearly.
That’s where the God part comes in. At times she wants nothing to do with me. At other times she crawls into my lap for some snuggle purr time. And I’m happy to see her every time. I’m not sitting there thinking “Gracie, you don’t deserve to be petted.” Or “when you start being nice to me, I’ll start being nice to you.”
Nope, it’s not like that at all. Instead I’m thinking, “here is my precious kitty whom I love. How happy I am to spend this time with her.”
I do believe that’s how God feels about us. Full of grace. Overlooking our trangressions. Seeing the beauty hidden underneath our sometimes gruff exteriors.
How could we not want to crawl into His lap for some snuggle purr time when we are loved like that?
That is why I named my dog Gracie, too. She was a gift from God, full of grace, happy just to love unconditionally.