UGLY GRACE

Ugly Grace? That’s a weird name for a blog! After all, grace is anything BUT ugly? And yet sometimes, God’s grace in our lives (as the tag line says) so often begins with a really ugly story. At least that’s been true in my life.

The undeserved, unmerited grace and favour of God is the most beautiful thing ever. The fact that someone would take all my sin, pride, shame (insert whatever you like here) and declare me whole and righteous is mind-blowing stuff.

And although the gift of grace is free, it comes at a cost. We have to surrender, to make sacrifices and you know what, sometimes, we mess it up. It can be an ugly, warty, twisted journey as we fall down, get back up, fall down, get back up.

 So for me ‘Ugly Grace’ sums up those two things. God’s grace is beautiful, undefiled and undeserved. The human journey toward it however is sometimes outwardly ugly. It has plot twists and unexpected turns, mistakes, detours and yet through it all, God is working out his perfect plan. The bottom line is, it’s there, available to anyone who wants it. We just have to surrender and start the journey.

And so while this is very much a personal blog telling stories and reflections, I hope that it will also inspire you to pick up a Bible. A wise person once said, ‘Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men (humans!) face’.

The Bible is bursting with amazing action, incredible love stories and mose of all, this astonishing story of a God who is indisputable faithful and grace-filled toward people who follow him.

Welcome to Ugly Grace.

And oh my name is Paula. Nice to meet you.