Without grace...

It began as a dream job. Though I was only twenty-five, I aced the interview. A previous employer highly recommended me. My future boss, who knew my previous boss, was so impressed she offered me top dollar to come work for her. For the first month we worked together well.

But one day she received a call from a frantic grad student whose dissertation draft was missing. This occurred years before personal computers became popular and it was her only copy. Just a few days prior my boss asked me to send it to her and I did. But after receiving the call my boss stormed into my office. “Did you mail that package?!”

Of course I did. But there was no proof.

From that moment my boss’ attitude toward me changed. Suspicion reigned. Was I really doing what she asked? She began to cross-examine everything. Under such scrutiny I became a nervous wreck . It was only a matter of time until I made a mistake and when I did it was the final nail in the coffin. This woman who’d valued me so highly upon hire, became convinced I was worthless and did nothing right. I plummeted from blessed to oppressed in a single day!

A week later, I called the grad student to apologize explaining we still couldn’t locate the draft of her dissertation. “Oh, it came the next day,” she shared, “I just forgot to call.”

By this time that made no difference to my boss. No matter how many things I did right, she didn’t trust me. In fact, she despised me.

And it just dawned on me… do you know what made that job so horrendous? There was no grace! I was highly valued when my boss approved my performance, esteemed while I was earning her favor. But the moment she thought I’d made a mistake she lost all regard for me!

What’s even more astonishing is realizing the impact that lack of grace had on me. It changed me.

I began to dread going to work each day. As I dragged my feet, I started arriving late and made even more mistakes. My heart was no longer in the job. I was trapped in a downward spiral becoming who she thought I was!

Recovering from that damage took years!

It’s sobering to consider how a lack of grace can serve as such a powerful agent of change in someone’s life... for the worse!

What destruction do I leave in my wake when I relate without grace?

Small wonder Peter concludes his second letter to believers encouraging them to “grow in grace.” (2 Peter 3:18) Reflecting on this certainly motivates me to do so even more!