Alana LePine

Kia Ora, my name is Alana LePine and I am the Children’s Missions Director for the Central Division.

In my spare time I love spending time in the sun with friends, family and my two precious God-daughters. I have been born and raised in the beautiful Aotearoa in a Christian family with two loving parents, an older sister, brother and twin brother. I am passionate about people (myself included) understanding the truth about who they have been created to be in God and this has taken me to many different places and on many different journeys.

Recently I have been reading “The Resolution for Women” By Priscilla Shirer. One topic she writes about is grace. 

She says “Grace, by definition is ‘favour or kindness expressed to the undeserving.’ It means giving someone a break when it’s the last thing they deserve to get. And it is precisely what was given to us by God Himself when He extended to us salvation from our sins, despite the fact that we were dreadfully sinful….When we, as recipients of Gods grace – His ‘gift’ (Ephesians 2:18) – realise just how many bobbles and blunders of ours He lovingly forgives and forgets every single day of our lives, we suddenly find our motivation for extending that same undeserved favour to those around us. His patience, His acceptance, His understanding, His kindness. By His grace, they become ours – not just to receive but to release….Every problem, every issue, every potential disaster, every family member’s weakness and failure, every less than desirable circumstance – when viewed through the lens of grace – becomes a fresh opportunity for extending mercy and kindness. Bestowing compassion. Seeing the best, even when the worst is front and centre. Dispensers of grace are women (and men!)... who let peace reign. Who let grace rule.”

Because I desire to be a woman of God, who reflects the character of Jesus I feel deeply challenged by Priscilla Shirer’s words. At home I have a list (that keeps growing) on my wall of Christ-like character that I want to develop… humility, integrity, wisdom, discipline, obedience to name a few, and  each year I pick a couple of attributes that I am going to particularly work on. This year grace is one of those attributes.

So I’m working on cleaning my grace lens and using it more often, rather than being blind to the grace that God weekly, daily and hourly offers me. Working on this attribute often means I am tested in applying it – but that’s how God helps me to grow.

As you go about your life and ministry invite God to remind you of the way He offers grace to you, and then be an agent of His grace to others – even when that seems too hard, and undeserved.   For the grace of God is …..

Wonderful grace 
That gives what I don’t deserve   
Gives me what Christ has earned
Lets me go free

Wonderful grace
That gives me the time to change
That washes away the stains
That once covered me….
Wonderful grace!

By Alana LePine