What does grace do?

I've been thinking lately about what it feels like to be comforted. Recently I was in the hospital. And while this has been a not unusual event for me, this stay was more than I wanted or expected or had endurance for. Frankly I was bewildered and hurting and close to panic. Of course I cried out to God. Of course I asked Him to open my eyes to His presence. And the tears still flowed and the fear was strong. As we waited for a diagnosis for what seemed, to quote Brian Regan, 'that my insides want to be on my outside', we were upset and in distress. Later that night as I tried to sleep with a tube down my nose, and the worst. nausea. ever. I asked God to reveal Himself to me. I felt comfort. I felt He was there. That He knew how hard this was on me, and that He wasn't intending to leave me alone.

A few days later, tube still in place and irritating the heck out of me, I began pondering what grace does. Like, what can you expect grace to feel like? If you ask for it, or desire it for another who is suffering, what would that look like?

This is not a complete answer, but this is what I know for today: Grace doesn't necessarily make the trial go away. God has His good and holy reasons for why He interrupts health. Or happiness. But grace opens my awareness to notice God. And the gift of knowing His nearness is good! It comforts. It warms. It strengthens my weak faith. So may it increase!