The Gentle Gift of Grace: Finding God in Everyday Moments

Written by: Yejin Ang

Grace is a concept often spoken of in Christian faith—a gift freely given by God, unearned and unconditional. While some might associate it with profound spiritual moments, I believe grace is far more universal—woven into the everyday, waiting to be noticed. In this reflection, I want to explore how grace gently touches our lives in small, meaningful ways and how opening our hearts to it can bring us a deeper sense of gratitude, joy, and connection.

Grace can often seem like something we must fight for, something we must achieve. Some believe that grace is an accomplishment earned through our life of faith, as though we are "leveling up" spiritually only when we collapse on the floor in tears after some profound, mystical experience. While such moments can happen—and that's perfectly okay—they are not the only ways grace appears in our lives.

I’m here to say that grace does not come solely in rare, dramatic moments. I believe grace arrives gently, like the warmth of sunlight on our shoulders or the soft gaze of a mother beckoning us to dinner. Grace is in the light streaming through our windows, the warmth of a bowl of chicken noodle soup, or the comforting embrace of a heated building on a cold day. Such is the grace of God—simple, quiet, and ever-present in our everyday lives. Often, all it takes is an open heart and trusting eyes to notice it. This grace is our source of joy and comfort, bringing understanding, acceptance, forgiveness, and gentleness. God offers grace so freely, and sometimes the hardest part is not its absence but our inability to see it. When we transform how our way of seeing things, learning to recognize God’s grace wherever we go, we can live a happy life, constantly in gratitude to our Heavenly Parent.

Mother Moon often emphasizes her goal in life is to be more grateful than she was yesterday: “I have only one goal for my life. It is to find what I should do so that I can live with a more grateful heart today than yesterday. It is the goal of my life to have a heart which is grateful every day, in order to live endeavoring to be more grateful today than yesterday, and to be more grateful tomorrow than today."

I’ve wondered why gratitude holds such significance for her. It seems so simple. Gratitude is everywhere—it’s trendy, even. Influencers talk about it as though it’s the ultimate "life hack" for happiness. But I’ve come to realize that gratitude goes far deeper than that. It is essential. Gratitude is the key to truly receive God’s grace and actually feel God’s love. God can be showering love on us, but what if we can’t receive it? When we make room in our hearts, however, we can feel God’s love more abundantly and clearly. Gratitude is what helps to expand our hearts so we are able to receive. Like a full cup that is overflowing, gratitude expands the cup so you can actually receive more of what is given.

And when we truly receive, giving flows naturally. Giving will come naturally, without strain or second thought.  

I believe in our hearts, we are all searching for God’s love. Yet how often do we miss the love our Creator so openly offers us? Father Moon once said that people look for peace in the wrong places. We forget that this world was created for the sake of our peace—the sky, the earth, the people around us, the gifts we’ve been given, even the food we eat. All of it was made for peace and given to us through God’s grace and love. You’d think that if someone gave us a gift, we’d eagerly receive it. Yet, how many days do we go without recognizing the countless gifts God gives us? Sometimes, we make it so hard for God to give us what we truly need.

We must open our hearts and find gratitude in even the smallest things, because for sure we can find God —our Heavenly Parent who loves us deeply, as both Father and Mother—through those tiny blessings. Although God’s gifts in our lives are not wrapped in tissue paper and shiny ribbons, they were still given to us so sincerely and genuinely.