Grace rarely makes sense for those looking in from the outside

The Shack presented me with a description of GOD which I had never entertained:
"Love and relationship. All love and relationship is possible for you only because it already exists within ME, within GOD myself." "You don't play a game or color a picture with a child to show your superiority. Rather, you choose to limit yourself so as to facilitate and honor that relationship." "Life takes a bit of time and a lot of relationship." "Relationships are never about power, and one way to avoid the will to power is to choose to limit oneself-to serve."
All around these quotes (which are not in order) is a description of a relationship that leaves me speechless. As the main character of The Shack comes to understand that GOD never left him in the midst of terrifying pain I came to understand that GOD is so intent and driven towards relationships because he has a perfect one in HIMself. "If I (GOD speaking) did not have such a relationship within myself, then I would not be capable of love at all...The GOD who is-the I am who I am-cannot act apart from love."
Within the trinity are three Beings that honestly love and honor one another as they work together. There is no power struggle, jealousy, or self-righteousness; they simply exist together in absolute adoration of each other.
I imagine it to be like that one activity/person/behavior that instantly creates peace and calm inside me. As if the mere presence of that thing lifts everything other than delight ouy of my hands. That is the picture I see as I read the words in The Shack describing how the trinity interacts and reaches out to the main character, who has just been beaten by life.
The times when I allow myself to truly ENJOY, a card game with my grandparents, a good conversation with friends while meandering aimlessly, the small sentimental things exchanged over LONG distances, cheesy jokes that strum basic humor chords, or a walk to the end of the pier or trail for no productive reason, taste so sweet because its my way of simply being with GOD. "Love always leaves a significant mark."
At first I would have assumed that these simple connections stand out so much because they are rare in the midst of our business; but after some thought I don't completely agree with that. No matter how many times I play cards with my grandparents I still love it, and no matter how many letters I get in the mail my heart still jumps when I see packages in my room. I think these things stand out so much because I was created, specifically designed, to value and appreciate these things. "Most birds were created to fly. Being grounded for them is a limitation within their ability to fly...you (GOD speaking to the main character), on the other hand, were created to be loved. So for you to live as if you were unloved is a limitation...living unloved is like clipping a bird's wings and removing its ability to fly." To enjoy love, recognize it during the day, prepare to give it away, and remember my own blessings put me back in the posture I was deisgned for.
As a creation crafted in GOD's image, I have an innate desire to give and receive love. I am capable of working myself into the ground or indulging in the affluenza around me, but those things are only limitations to what I was created to be: "pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly. And if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place." I would argue that "pain" can be replaced with many things.
At one point in the book GOD tells the main character that "you don't even comprehend that freedom is an incremental process." Each time I grounded myself and required discipline, teaching, or encouragement I had a chance to break free.
At one point in the book, the main character is laying on the grass with JESUS watching the stars. He is at the very cite where his deepest pain sprouts, but he doesn't notice it in conversation with JESUS. The main character says to JESUS "You said I don't really know you. It would be a lot easier if we could always talk like this." JESUS replies, "Don't think that just because I am not visible, our relationship has to be less real. It will be different, but perhaps even more real."
I love this response, especially in light of the life, because I often times skip over my daily struggles when I spend time with GOD thinking "HE already knows." But I think GOD delights in hearing about my thoughts, discoveries, and struggles because he can see them through my eyes. I think HE enjoys hearing me tell stories the same way I collect my grandpa's stories like candy. Some days being with GOD looks like a silent walk, other days it involves expressing my heart, and still others it involves being this love to others. "I suppose that since most of our hurts come through relationships so will our healing."