Amazing
We are deep in the holiday season, and it is my supposition that many of us are shopping for gifts that we hope our loved ones will want and enjoy. I know when you drive to and from your daily destinations, you have Christmas music playing, and you see houses decorated with bright lights and the occasional 20' waving snowman. However, deep inside, I bet you are thinking none of this matters. It is the feeling you get this time of year that you cherish. What is that feeling? Is it nostalgia? Could it be the Christmas spirit that comes in the form of lights, decorations, and music? I have asked myself these questions, and the answer I have come up with is Grace.
Grace is defined by the Webster Dictionary as; a person's disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or compassion. Yes, kindness to yourself and others, is the key to Christmas.
If you are a fan of spiritual music or have ever visited a church, read Uncle Tom's Cabin, you have heard about the song Amazing Grace. Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Elvis recorded the song. Even Judy Collins' recording spent 67 weeks on the chart and peaked at number 5 between 1970 and 1972. However, do you know who wrote it? Or why?
Amazing Grace was written by former enslaver John Newton in the early 1800s. He wrote the song about his journey toward Grace.
Out to Sea
Newton was the son of a stern sea captain who took him out to sea with him by age 11. Therefore, John learned several things, first, how to drink with the crew. Second, he was not a fan of sailing, and he tried to desert his ship; he received eight dozen lashes and fell to the rank of a common seaman.
Meanwhile, he would be left stranded by his crew in West Africa. While he was there, he was treated as a slave by an African Royal who lodged him.
I'll Find You
John's father learned of his abandonment and requested a fellow sea captain to go out and find his missing son. The captain was successful, but the ride home was a treacherous one. As a result, the ship was caught in a horrendous storm off the coast of Ireland and almost sank. Newton was terrified and prayed to God for help. Subsequently, the cargo then miraculously shifted to fill a hole in the ship's hull, and the boat drifted to safety. John was ecstatic and took this as a miracle from God. He marked this event as his conversion to Christianity.
However, John did not shift his old ways instantly. Like most of us, it took time before he would fully embrace his Grace. He would later state that he did start reading the bible and looked upon his captives with a more sympathetic view.
Lost and Found
Newton suffered a stroke in 1754 and retired. In 1764, he was ordained as an Anglican priest and wrote 280 hymns throughout his services. He wrote the words for "Amazing Grace" in 1772 (In 1835, William Walker put the words to the popular tune "New Britain").
It was not until 34 years later that John renounced his former slaving profession by publishing an insidery leaflet called "Thoughts Upon the Slave Trade." He describes the enslaved people's horrible conditions and personal humiliation for participating in such a business. "It will always be a subject of humiliating reflection to me that I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders."
The pamphlet received such a positive response that local printers reproduced it many times; Parlament also received a copy. Under the leadership of MP William Wilberforce, the English civil government outlawed slavery in Great Britain in 1807. Newton lived to see the law enacted, dying in December of that year.
Why Not
Grace does not have to come with a miracle for you to practice it. Time is irrelevant. A retch, like John Newton, was able to positively affect the laws of slavery with a pen.
So this holiday season, I urge us all to allow the Grace within to fill your days. It is more critical now than ever, to extend a hand of kindness to a stranger. Your actions reverberate in the universe like a pebble in the pond. You are part of the new earth and are better for it.
A Cup of Kindness
' Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that Grace appear The hour I first believed.
