These words by the theologian Paul Tillich describe grace so beautifully.  And I think when we read them we will feel joyful, relieved, happy, liberated, connected and loved.

"Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we were estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage."

The moment comes when a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and a voice says: “You are accepted.” "You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, by one whose name is above every name. Do not try to do anything. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted!”  When that happens to us, we experience grace.

After such an experience - everything is transformed. In that moment, grace conquers sin, and reconciliation occurs. The lost are found – the weak are made strong, the blind see and there is nothing but acceptance. Nothing is demanded of this experience, no religious or moral or intellectual presupposition, nothing but acceptance. That is God’s Amazing Grace.