Oceans of Grace

As we welcome the new year, we stand ready to embrace change and renew our commitment to personal growth and well-being. Many of us make resolutions to improve ourselves, but I’ve found that the most transformative resolution is to fully surrender—to the present moment, to the journey, and to a higher purpose. Surrender isn’t about giving up; it’s about opening ourselves to the grace of each moment. By yielding to life’s flow, to the Divine flow, we become more attuned to its lessons and more resilient in facing challenges. We let go of the need to control and accept what is happening, allowing ourselves to find peace by accepting the things we cannot change and focusing on what we can influence. I’d like to share a personal reflection I wrote during a difficult time in my life when I learned to lean into surrender:

Oceans of Grace

As I stand at the shore of the ocean…

I can’t help but think of the awesome majesty and power of God.

As I start to wade out into the ocean…

The crashing of the waves against my body remind me of…

The pounding and buffeting I have felt this past year or so.

The waves pushing me around, to and fro, remind me of my feelings of having very little control…

Of being at the mercy of all the circumstances that have pushed against me in every direction…

And the fatigue I’ve felt fighting against it.

But then I look out at the vastness of the ocean 

And it reminds me of the tremendous abundance of God’s mercy and grace…

A grace which They want to overwhelm each and every one of us with.

As I walk out deeper…

The ocean of God’s grace still contains all the power it did near the shoreline, 

But I no longer feel the pounding that I did earlier…

Instead I feel this tremendous flow that wants to overwhelm me…

And even push me in a particular direction.

The deeper out I go…

The more I yield to the force of the ocean, the force of God’s grace…

Moves me where it wills, God moves me where They will.

When I stand at the edge of Grace, I find myself fighting it…

And taking a beating…

But, the more I trust it…

The farther out I go…

The more I accept and even embrace Grace…

The easier it becomes to put aside my will and yield to its flow…

to let myself be moved in the Divine will.

May this year bring you the courage to surrender, the wisdom to flow, and the grace to fully inhabit each precious moment of your journey.

Peace,
Joseph Krans, Executive Director