I think we are “sometimes” people. At least I am. Sometimes I say the right thing, sometimes not. Sometimes I do the right thing, sometimes not. Sometimes I am generous and kind and sometimes not. Sometimes I get the right answer and sometimes not.

This is why I believe that one of the primary resources for living well is grace. Grace is the capacity to accept the sometime nature of human existence. It is the way I am able to live with myself when it turns out that I make mistakes.

It is also the way others are able to live with me. Others who know me well know that I am a “sometime” person. Without grace, most of us would live alone. We would not be able to overcome the disappointment we feel when we or others are sometimes not what we need them to be. Grace is the gift we offer to ourselves and to others to heal the fracture caused by our being “sometime” people.

So, if we are struggling with ourselves when we have violated our better selves, or if we are trying to figure out how to relate to others who have been sometimes wrong, let’s find a cup of mercy to share with the hope that we might survive our conflicted nature and build a more human and humane community.