Ordinary Cause of Things

Driving south on the I-5 to San Diego my cousins and I find ourselves talking about grace. I think it’s unconditional love, says one cousin. I talk about just finishing Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead. We talk about death and aging. And then another cousin calls and we put her on speaker. And talk about the reason I’m here.

My mother.

Oxford Dictionary defines grace as the free, unmerited favor, love, or kindness shown by God to humanity.

Sorry Oxford Dictionary, but I prefer the definition Marilynne Robinson shared with President Barack Obama in their correspondence: grace is that reservoir of goodness beyond and of another kind that we are able to do each other in the ordinary cause of things.

It’s that ordinary cause of things that gets me. It’s so human. It’s acknowledging that we are trying our best and most of the time fumbling our way through, and goodness, couldn’t we all benefit from some kindness? Forbearance? Patience? A smile, helping hand, a well done acknowledgement, expression of gratitude, an invitation to spend time together, a listening, a seeing. Human to human.

Grace.

In the ordinary cause of things.

Giving and receiving.