A few days ago, I went out for an event with my siblings. We drove in multiple cars. My elder brother drove one, and I rode along.

When it was time to leave, after the event was over, he switched to another car. I took over the one we had come with. Exiting the lot turned out to be tedious — engines rumbled around me, the air thick with impatience. Kids cried in back seats, anxious to get home. Drivers tapped their steering wheels. It took over 30 minutes to crawl forward.

At this parking lot, the rule was simple: you parked first, but you paid at the exit before the barrier lifted. That was why the line moved so slowly — every driver had to stop, make payment, and only then could they leave.

As I drew closer to the barrier, I held my purse, ready to pay. Finally, my turn came. I slowed, reached for my card… and then the security personnel simply opened up the barrier and waved me through. No bill. No charge. No explanation. Just grace.

Minutes later, my brother called.

“Did you manage to get out of the parking lot?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied. Then I asked, “Did you pay before you left?”

“Of course,” he said. “Everybody pays.”

That’s when I broke the news: “Well, I didn’t even have to pay.”

He was stunned. I teased, “See? I’m graced.”

He laughed and pushed back, “No, I’m the one who is graced — remember, I drove the car in!”

I reminded him, “Yes, but I’m the one who drove it out, and I didn’t pay a dime.”

The funny part was, he had to pay the parking fee with the car he was in — the one he hadn’t even driven in. But I, driving the car he did bring in, got waved out for free. And that’s when it hit me: it didn’t matter who drove the car in. Grace showed up for the one who drove it out.

That moment reminded me: grace isn’t always about effort or order. It’s about timing and favor. It’s not necessarily about who starts something, or who went in first, or who did the hard work. Grace rests on the one God chooses to carry through. It’s about His timing, His favor, His hand — not our position.

We often think the advantage lies with the one who begins. But grace rewrites the script. It finds the one who ends up in the place of favor — and that can be you, even when you don’t qualify in the usual way. Grace doesn’t follow our logic. It always follows God’s intention.

Days later, it happened again. I parked at another event, and soon it was time to leave. Like most paid parking lots here, when you drive in, you collect a small ticket from a machine at the gate. On your way out, you slot that ticket back into the machine, and the screen flashes the amount you owe before it lets you through.

So there I was, ticket in hand. I slid it into the slot, bracing myself for the numbers to appear. My card was ready. Instead, the barrier lifted silently. No bill. No charge. Just grace. It wasn’t even a weekend when parking is sometimes free. This was a regular weekday morning. Unexpected, but real.

That same evening, my husband and I went out for date night. We ordered the same meal with slight variations. When the waiter returned, he placed the plates down without asking who ordered what. Mine was the larger portion. Grace again.

First at the lot. Then again. And later, at dinner. Grace upon grace. And here’s the thing. Grace is often easiest to see in small stories. A waived fee, a shorter line, a bigger portion. These are everyday parables. Jesus Himself used ordinary things — seeds, lamps, coins, and so on — to illustrate deep truths. The point isn’t the parking lot. The point is what the parking lot represents: God’s hand at work in the details of life.

Sometimes grace looks ordinary — but it’s never ordinary when you realize Who sent it. Grace is God’s quiet way of saying, I see you. The Bible says: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8 KJV)

I’m learning every day to pause and notice these fingerprints of God’s grace.

What’s a recent “grace moment” you’ve seen in your own life?

Categories: My Devotionals, My lifestyle

Tags: Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, grace, Grace in action, Grace in everyday life, Grace stories, Intentional living, Life lessons, Reflections