HOW TO RECOGNIZE GRACE (with bracketed additions from my life this summer)
It comes in odd packages(like a headache that wakes you in the middle of the night and you get up and see the moon shining)
It sometimes looks like loss (like the passing of my friend Nancy)
or mistakes (like getting stuck in rush hour traffic in Chicago with BS)
It acts like rain (like a pan of BBQ pork from Tammy's kitchen to make a meal easy)
or like a seed (like our son Ben in Indonesia helping his kids love us)
It’s both reliable and unpredictable (like Rachel, my daughter)
It’s not what you were aiming at (a perfect restful summer)
or what you thought you deserved (like presents on Mother's Day)
It supplies what you need (like a hug)
not necessarily what you want (like no problems to deal with)
It grows you up (like learning you are not the most important person in every room)
and lets you be a child (like me and Joy watching fireworks in the rain on BS's jeep)
It reminds you you’re not in control (like seeing Vincent find his world)
and that not being in control is a form of freedom (like me 'n Steve on the front porch at the end of the day.)

Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies by Marilyn McEntyre.