Yoder: Grace

By Kathy Yoder

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

Martha was a young woman on an inner city mission trip. She helped clean houses and apartments after they’d been fumigated. The elderly man sat at his kitchen table. His home, not cleaned in many years, housed dust so thick you could not only write your name in it, you could create 3-dimensional people, name them, incorporate their village and tax them.

The man was paper thin. In fact, Martha was afraid that the slightest breeze might make him crumble. He watched silently as she washed his dishes and chatted endlessly. He listened patiently, kindly.

Martha reached into a cupboard. It hadn’t been opened for years. She should have asked for the man’s permission, but being young and inexperienced she didn’t. She reached inside and brought out a very filthy teacup and saucer. She plopped them into the hot, sudsy water where they immediately cracked and broke into pieces. Martha was surprised. The man was horrified. Tears slid down his face and got lost in his furrowed lines.

“I’m so sorry,” said Martha. “Gee, I hope it wasn’t special.”

The man didn’t  say anything, but somehow Martha knew that of all the hundreds of dishes and cups and stuff he had in his house, she’d broken the one that meant the most. She sat down next to him.

“We were so young. It’s been almost…80 years now. The day we got married we didn’t have anything, but we did buy each other a gift. One teacup and one saucer.”

“The one I just broke?”

“Yes, dear.”

“Oh, I am so, so sorry,” Martha said, fighting back the tears. “I…I…I don’t know what to say.”

He patted her hand. “We measured out our life in that teacup. Sometimes we barely had enough to fill the saucer. Sometimes we both drank from the cup, sharing a day-old tea bag. And sometimes, our cup overflowed and spilled onto the table. It’s funny, we accumulated many nice things in our lives together, but my wife liked that teacup and saucer the best. One time I wanted to buy her a new ring, but she wouldn’t let me. ‘Just buy me another tea bag and we’ll share,’ she said.

“We laughed and we cried over many cups of tea. Times when I’d done something thoughtless or stupid and I didn’t deserve to be forgiven, she forgave me any way.” The old man laughed.

“What’s funny?”

“Her name. I always thought her name fit her perfectly. Grace.“

“That is a pretty name,” said Martha.

“Yes, yes, but that’s not the reason. Some people much smarter than me look for grace their whole lives and never find it. But I know what grace is because I lived with her.”

“I’m sorry,” said Martha. “I don’t understand.”

And the elderly man in the dusty house explained to the young girl on the mission trip all about grace.

“When God sent His perfect son Jesus to earth so He could save us from ourselves, that’s grace. When Jesus was up on that cross on Calvary and He took all the sins – past, present and future – on Himself and became our sacrifice, that’s grace. And in the midst of all His suffering and pain, Jesus used His last ounce of strength to say, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.’ Who do you think he was talking about? He was talking about me. And he was talking about you. He was talking about everyone.

“And right now when you’re feeling so bad about one old man’s teacup and saucer – don’t. I forgive you. If Grace were here, she’d forgive you, too. But most importantly of all, God’s grace forgave you even before it happened. Take it from someone who’s had a lifetime of overflowing grace, it doesn’t get any better than that!”

And by the way, I was that young girl—Martha—on that mission trip so long ago.

Yes, I  broke the man’s treasured teacup. I also learned the true meaning of grace. Because of the old man’s kindness and forgiveness and because of God’s amazing grace, I’ve learned how to extend that grace to others.

So here’s my question for you. Who in your life needs the grace you’ve been given? Start small—perhaps with a teacup of conversation.

Kathy Yoder is a devotional writer and Christian author. She may be reached at  Kathyyoder4@gmail.com and Kathyyoder.com.