Grace sightings, January 2013

My vocation of “seeing and saying the grace of God hidden in the ordinariness of life” keeps me alert. Here are just some of the sightings this past month, mostly small moments when my heart skipped a beat and my spirit said yes.

 --Fat rain drops clinging to the bare branches of the Japanese cherry tree outside my kitchen window.

--The ride to Maygar for the family reunion. The roads were clear, but snow covered the trees as we drove through the forest. Beautiful.

--Time talking with our nephew and his wife at the reunion, perhaps our first private extended conversation with them. They are serious, deeply thinking young people, finding their way as a newly married couple, and searching out God’s plans for their future.

--Hal’s hugs and kind words; the warmth and courage that comes from “old love.”

--Reading Father Brown mysteries (G. K. Chesterton) at night with Hal. I think I’ve found a new friend.

--Bev’s gift of organic gel to rub into Hal’s back and the relief it seems to give; spontaneous gifts and the people who give them.

--Fred Bush’s commentary on the book of Esther; people who make the academic calling a true gift to the church.

--The orange/yellow stripes on my cat’s back and tail, the upsidedown V of white on his face, his white belly and paws. Chiri knows he’s gorgeous. Such pride in his bearing, such stern eyes. He knows.

--Seeing the results as we finished the long project of taking out the ugly baseboard heaters, then repairing the walls and rugs. A good simplicity has emerged.

--The kindness and efficiency of the medical personnel in the Providence Hospital ER; getting the news that although Hal’s back distress is real, his heart is fine. Relief.

--Winter birds. The hummingbirds are draining our feeder twice as fast as they usually do.

--The bones of the maple tree outside the bedroom window. One day I saw the tree inhabited by a whole congress of small brown birds. At some hidden signal, they all lifted in mass and flew away. Later a large blue jay troubled the branches, while Chiri sat in the window watching intently.