Grace-Given

Today I am grateful for a morning cup of coffee shared with my husband Darcy. I am also grateful for the love I have for words and getting them out of my head and on to paper and screen.

I also appreciate the words of others, such as this quote from Patricia Campbell Carlson:

"Grief and gratitude are kindred souls, each pointing to the beauty of what is 

transient and given to us by grace." 

Five months ago today, my brother-in-law Roger died. He had been ill with Lewy Body Dementia for several years. I think about my sister Danita every day and the process of grief she has been going through, not just these last five months but the days, weeks, months, and years prior. 

Yet, even as Roger got more sick and less himself, losing capacities while his loved ones could only watch, there were also new levels of grace and new ways that Roger reached those around him.

The beauty of life is realizing everything is grace-given. Including the bike ride I did yesterday after work. I was "doing a Roger" as my sister Aileen calls it. Honoring one of Roger's favorite hobbies and honoring the grace that allowed me the opportunity to hop on my bike and go.