Grace in the pain

Looking up into a tree with lights.

I just finished reading this post, from the blog SpinBeat, entitled, "Grace is about looking back."

Where is the grace is being let down by someone?  What can we learn from the let down?

• Sometimes it is necessary to realize that we often take someone else's actions as a personal let down, when we are only caught in the cross fire.  That doens't make the sting any better, maybe, but knowing that we sometimes aren't the target is important.
• Sometimes, there is a realization that we are in the wrong, not the other person.  Grace comes in the apology (from us).  There is grace in the admission of error, even though we don't like it.
• Sometimes, begin let down means that our expectations are too high.  We need to adjust them to reality.  We might not like the reality, and the adjustment can be hard, and might require some work, but ... well, there you go.  There is grace in seeing the person as s/he is, not as we expect him/her to be, and then loving anyway. 
• Sometimes, when we are let down, it's just crummy, and there is nothing that can be done about it.  We can believe the other person was wrong, and we just have to pick up and move on anyway.  Grace comes into play, because forgiveness is necessary.
• And Laura is right, sometimes the grace comes into play because we can help someone else through what we have learned.
• Sometimes the grace is the painful growth and transformation that results from the hurt.

None of it is very pleasant.  Grace is the hope, though, through the pain. 

Easy words; hard experience.