ann kiemel

i was attending my 12-step
class. adela, our leader, who i
so love and respect, was
telling the story of her ex-husband.
one of them, i should say.

this man is the father of two
of her children..and a grandchild.
it just happened. something not
planned. exactly. but....

the plumbing in the bathroom
went awry, and manny is a
natural, fix-things-kind-of-guy.
he sort of moved in to work on
the bathroom. put slabs of wood
into the tree trunk in the back
yard so people could sit. laid
stones in the ground and created
a walk-way.

it became easier
to let him stay than to
nicely scoot him out. except,
they were divorced. and she
was feeding him. stepping
over him. every time she turned
around, there was manny.

a month ago,
she rented a u-haul truck.
helped him find a decent place
to live. took him to do change
of address and small, legal
issues. backing out of her
driveway, she stopped.

"manny, i want you to know
i hold nothing against you.
no hard feelings or resentments.
i'm sorry if i've hurt you."

he remarked that only
nice ladies spoke like this.
and i thought....i've fallen
into holes, unintentionally,
just like adela. found myself
in situations i didn't know how
to get out of. complicated
messes. really. and Jesus has
never left me stuck.

and i loved how adela helped,
in the kindest of ways, to guide
an old man to do what he really
didn't know squat (forgive my
slang) about. you know. finding
another place. renting the truck.
showing respect to the father of
her children.

it really is called grace.
Jesus has shown all of us
nothing but grace. all our
lives. yet...having grace for
others and ourselves is often
so difficult.

"behold, the Lord's hand is
not shortened, that it cannot
save; nor His ear heavy, that it
cannot hear." isaiah 59

grace is yours for the asking.
this very day!