What about GRACE ? Grace Happens..

Robb Ryerse recently asked on his Grenzian ( thegrenzian.blogspot.com) blog..."What has Grace done for you?" 

I just started writing and thought I would share it here as I really need to start blogging again. 
 

The certainty of "black and white" beliefs within the fundamentalist arena is at times quite comforting--IF you are on the INSIDE of the arena. Step out of that circle and suddenly the cold dark winds blow, and you are left alone. I have experienced this many times in my spiritual history.
I don't mean to be a rebel as far as "BELIEF" goes...but the unfairness of it within the fundamentalist movement just makes me raw in my soul.
One of the times I felt abandoned was when I left a very fundamental Baptist Bible College, Dr Jim Vineyard's church in Oklahoma City-Windsor Hills Baptist Church and Oklahoma Baptist college. The church preached (and if you didn't follow the rules your life work of being Led by God to do anything was seriously compromised), so when it was 90 degrees outside, women wore "Hose" (nylons to anyone outside the arena)...no open toed shoes and NEVER pants (which outlined a woman's thighs so that men would be so uncontrollably filled with lust they would "ACT" on it and it would be the woman's fault for wearing pants.) I remember over 3,000 in church, and Dr. Vineyard stopping to call a woman a whore who wore pants. (I am not kidding). Maybe some reader here will understand the HUGEness of even naming names here. But..I digress...
For various and sinful reasons, I left the school, rather than be "disciplined" and censured by the school.

The students (one that "I" led to the Lord) was ordered to have NO communication with me. We had been best friends, and worked at Dairy Queen as Managers together. She was also from Michigan, single and her parents thought she went insane. I guess because of my involvement with her, she did.

What did Grace do? Grace taught me that I didn't have to be a part of a school that lessened my worth, that condoned marital physical beatings, that interfered with the primacy of the family, that threatened one's calling if you disagreed.
Grace more than anything, gave me HOPE. Hope that God was somehow above all this ridiculousness, and Hope that God had more freedom in mind for me. Hope that my personality was made by God, and could be used by God to serve in unique ways.
Yep...Grace gave me Hope.

Your thoughts?