Children of the Everlasting One

Glimpses of Grace

“Every day we have glimpses of our Higher Self when we enter into what I call a ‘state of grace.’ We suddenly feel peaceful and contented and see beauty around us. These states of grace may last for hours or for just a few seconds. By developing an awareness of them, we can extend the time that we stay in the Higher Self before we fall asleep again and get carried away by the insecure self-cherishing of the ego.”
Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.

“The Kingdom is within you and all around you. When you know yourselves fully you will be truly known. And you will know that you are children of the everlasting one.”
Jesus (Gnostic Gospel of Thomas)


The definition of grace takes up almost a whole column in Webster’s Dictionary. It means so many things: mercy, clemency, pardon, forgiveness, the favor and love of God. I seem to know what grace is when I am deep into creative work in my sewing room. The hours spent with the Seekers Group, when we're all on the same wave length are grace-filled for me. I have a visceral experience of grace when I listen to Andrea Bocelli sing “Ave Maria” or “Nelle Tue Mani” (“Now We Are Free”), or see a hawk circling high on air currents. Sometimes when watching a beautiful sunset, the boundaries of my identity dissolve and I am one with its glory. In such moments everything is effortless. Time stops. I feel buoyed and connected with everything that is inside and outside of me. These moments of bliss are a gift. I can’t make them happen and I can’t hang on to them for longer than they choose to stay.

Knowing what grace is makes clear what grace is not. Grace isn’t worrying and fretting over what is lacking in life, what we're not able to do, or what’s not happening when we want it to happen. Sometimes we get caught up in how awful everything is and how helpless we are to change it. At those times, grace is a long way from home. That may be what Jesus was talking about in the Gospel of Thomas when he said if we are not a source of light, we are a source of darkness. There’s no getting around the fact that some days we radiate darkness!

I believe we could experience grace more often and for longer if we could love what we already have; if we could look around us and recognize that this IS the Kingdom; if we knew ourselves fully enough to realize that we ARE children of the everlasting One. Saying these words to ourselves once a day, “I am a child of the Eternal Source,” instead of, “I am fat—I look awful,” could produce feelings of serenity. And that is grace! It is loving acceptance of who we are, where we are, and with whom we are. And it is extending that same acceptance to others. I hope your day is full of grace.

In the Spirit,
Jane