Romans 5:2

  I am standing in His grace.
  (Our Lord Jesus Christ) through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." NKJV
  "Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory." JCB

  A morning of distractions: calls to my Mom to wish her Happy Mother's Day, texts with my daughter in Nova Scotia and messaging with a friend in China. I wonder if Disney would have realized the song, It's a Small World, was prophetic!

  I am still musing over the idea of prejudice and racism. To limit either of these terrible attitudes to skin colour is to let them slip under the door into our hearts.
  Following a talk about mental health at a local church, I made myself available in the foyer for anyone who would like to speak with me. I witnessed more than one person, head down, quickly walk the perimeter of the room as far as possible from my small table. It was a walk that visibly took them out of their way to access the door immediately to my right.
  It left me feeling incredibly sad. I am still sad about the whole thing because these are my brothers and sisters in Christ.

  The mother of prejudice is ignorance.

  Lord, forgive me for allowing ignorance to colour my attitudes towards others, believers and non-believers alike. Forgive me for allowing ignorance to foster the growth of suspicion and distrust. Forgive me for being closed to new ideas, new understandings. Lord, I want to be so much better than I am.
  Forgive me for making assumptions about what lay in another's heart based on external appearances even when it seems obvious. Perhaps my brothers and sisters had a bad experience with someone living with a mental health challenge...I don't know. Lord, I choose to forgive them for stirring up feelings of rejection and bitterness in me. Hmmm, and a prejudicial attitude of my own because I condemned them for not "living up to Jesus".
  I also pray, Lord, that the discernment of what is truth will overcome my worldly attitudes and ideas. Teach me to live a gracious life. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN!