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b'\\u201cWouldn\\u2019t these magnets make great souvenirs from my trip?\\u201d I thought,\\nbrowsing the little shop high above the ground. My summer of serving with\\ninner city ministries in New York was drawing to a close, and my friends\\nand I had wanted to visit the Empire State Building one final time. We\\nstopped by the gift shop before leaving, where I spotted magnets depicting\\nclassic New York City landmarks.\\nI selected a few to give as presents but then inadvertently dropped one.\\nHitting the floor, it broke. I gathered up the two cracked pieces and chose\\na replacement for it as well. Reaching the cashier\\u2019s counter, I set down\\nthe items I wished topurchase\\u2014along with the broken one. The clerk pointed\\nout that it was damaged; I explained I\\u2019d caused the accident and would pay\\nfor the broken souvenir as well as the ones I wanted to bring home.\\nBut the cashier told me I didn\\u2019t have to pay for it. The store made\\nallowances for the occasional broken piece of merchandise; they would cover\\nthe cost. Amazed, I thanked her for being understanding about my mistake.\\nWhen people surprise us with grace\\u2014affording us better treatment than we\\ndeserve\\u2014it can remind us of God\\u2019s grace toward us, which He revealed in His\\ngift of eternal life to all who trust in His Son, Jesus, for the\\nforgiveness of their sins. While I had the ability to pay for the busted\\nmagnet, I don\\u2019t possess the power to pay for my own sins.\\nBy putting our trust in Jesus, who died on the cross and then rose from the\\ngrave for us, we experience God\\u2019s grace and mercy\\u2014not being treated as our\\nsins deserve, but instead getting to participate in His everlasting kingdom\\nas one of His beloved children. As we grow in love for God, we can share\\nthis astonishing grace and mercy with others. Just as that cashier showed\\nme many stories above the\\nstreets of New York. \\u2981 Allison Wilson Lee\\n\\u2981 Have you ever been surprised by the grace another person showed you? What\\ndid they do?\\n\\u2981 When we consider the mercy God showers on His children, how could that\\ninspire us to show mercy to others?\\nFor you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves;\\nit is God\\u2019s gift. Ephesians 2:8 (CSB)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nPs.51.1-Ps.51.2|Mic.7.18|Matt.5.7|Eph.2.8'