Mouthful Grace

Have you ever been with someone and you are having a very interesting or very serious conversation with someone and they take a mouthful of food and try to continue the conversation while munching on the food in their mouth? Other than it being annoying, it's difficult to understand what they are saying, despite trying to listen carefully to their comment.

 In times where I want to say, "Can you just finish your sentence before you take the next bite," I should be asking for Mouthful Grace, so I can patiently while they finish talking. It does no good to try to explain the benefits of not talking with their mouth full and can only lead to hard feelings. I'm so very blessed that Christ has shown me this, in times when I might be tempted to say things I might regret.

Example of a Brief Prayer

But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Acts 15:11

I was with someone who was scooping up some free popcorn. They didn't ask me if I wanted any. The person told me that I should get a bag of popcorn and then took it from my hands. They wanted me to get the popcorn for them to eat later.

It's such a silly thing, but it really did irritate me. Didn't that person think about whether I wanted some or not? Couldn't they have asked me if I wanted some before they took it from my hands? I found myself getting frustrated at that person. Then, it popped into my mind that that's not what Christ wants of me. He wants me to be gracious to those who irritate me, but I was too frustrated to be gracious at that moment.

What I prayed was, "Popcorn Grace," and immediately Christ calmed me down, so that I didn't respond to the person in a less than positive manner. Although the "Popcorn Grace" prayer was very brief, I was asking Christ to please give me grace with this popcorn situation, so I would respond in a gracious manner, and He did! It amazed me that He knew and understood my brief prayer and granted me that grace, so I could be more gracious as an example of how He works in my life! I have continued to use these brief prayers which are changing my life and my response to others. If Christ can do this for me, He can most certainly do it for you, as well. Try it...what can it hurt?