Message from the Executive Director
In June of this year, as part of ACTS annual pilgrimage to Comox, I was asked to share a few words at a St. Peter’s Anglican Church service on the topic of “Unexpected Grace.”
Author and theologian Frederick Buechner says this about grace: “Grace is something you can never get but only be given. There’s no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth.”
As I considered these words, I found myself watching our most recent video of Zoreka. For most of Zoreka’s life, access to safe water was a dream that felt impossible. Living in rural poverty, his community’s collective earnings were not sufficient to build their own water system. And then, someone from ACTS arrived and said, “If you want it, we will bring you water.” Talk about an unexpected grace.
Gratitude enlarges us, making room for love received and given in myriad life-giving ways.
I feel utterly humbled by Zoreka’s attentiveness to grace. I find it all too easy to focus my attention on what’s lacking. And yet grace is all around, if only I take a moment to notice. Endless striving shrinks the heart, leaving little room for others. Gratitude enlarges us, making room for love received and given in myriad life-giving ways.
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![]() Nate Lepp Executive Director |