Do you recognize light and grace in your life even when bad things happen? Every life is difficult and contains pain and suffering. Gut every life is also infused with God’s light and grace.
I do belong to a women’s memoir group based in Austin called the Story Circle Network (SCN.) Each month, we read a memoir and discuss it. We also write stories about our lives and share them with each other.
Although autobiographies and memoirs hold some things in common, they are different. Where an autobiography details a person’s life from birth to death, a memoir is concerned with the meaning of a person’s life. For instance, if an artist wrote a memoir, it might be seen through a lens that would emphasize everything pertaining to the development of the artist.
A memoir should find light and grace in life, blessings and meanings of the events. Our reading enjoyment is increased by seeing the light shine through events, even in the midst of suffering and pain, showing us possibilities of living well. When we see another person face life with courage, dignity, and compassion, we can discover how to find the grace in our own circumstances.
Even people of faith sometimes have trouble recognizing good news or blessings unless they learn to look at life differently. Luke says that on the road to Emmaus, the disciples’ eyes were opened and they recognized the risen Christ. May God open our eyes that we may see visions of truth, light, and grace. May we recognize blessings when they come and respond with thanks.
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