Recognizing Grace

Sea Change, New Zealand

I set a goal this month to write every day; today is 18 of 30. I like challenges.

Yet, the minutes are slipping away. I started and stopped a few writing pieces today and need more time to organize my thoughts into words, to make what I want to say whole.

I returned to an essay on the shape of friendships; what seemed so simple has become more complex than I could have imagined. It feels like that book you reach for on the very top shelf…when you are on the tip of your toes and can feel it brushing against your fingertips, but you can’t quite get it. Patience and try again.

I have been working on an essay, more or less a page from my life in 1974, but I can not get the ending to flow in the right direction. I filed it away for another day, as I have done so many times before. Maybe I should just let it go… or not.

I have another essay on “sea change,” about big decisions in life and how important it is to step into your dreams. The problem is that I have too much to say on the topic. I might be overthinking this one.

I returned to a story about a photography lesson in Marrakesh that I have wanted to write about for years. It was in French, and I do not speak French, which is why I have never forgotten it.

Sometimes, you have so much to say and not enough time; the worst thing you can do is rush.

🌿🌿🌿

Serendipity is lovely; I just came across an email a blogging friend, Kristin, sent to me a few years ago.

Talk about timing.

Dear Jeanne,

Today a good friend posted a poem. I thought of you, and your journey shared through blogs and posts and want to share it with you.

How to Recognize Grace
by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre

It takes you by surprise.
It comes in odd packages.
It sometimes looks like loss or mistakes.
It acts like rain or like a sea.
It’s both reliable and unpredictable
It’s not what you were aiming at or what you thought you deserved.
It supplies what you need, not necessarily what you want.
It grows you up and lets you be a child.
It reminds you you’re not in control.
And that not being in control is a form of freedom.

Be strong. Be patient. Be kind.

Thank you, Kristin, for reminding me how to recognize grace, again.

I shall persevere. ;)

#beginagainwriting18