This morning I went out for my walk with my Netflix movie in my hand to deposit in the mailbox along the way.  At the same moment a neighbor was coming out of the next unit, one door down.  And, in a very unusual and rare occurrence for Washington DC – she spoke to me!

Yes, she said “hello” and then went on to ask what movie I had watched.  I almost didn’t know what to do!  She must not have realized that she was living in DC and that NO ONE talks to people on the street here.  Or, she didn’t get the memo that this was my year-long silent retreat and I couldn’t respond . . . or, she may have just moved in and did not yet know the local social etiquette.

We carried on a lovely little conversation until she turned to go a different direction.  And, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Cultural differences are real.  All you have to do is visit a different locale to experience the truth of that.  But, recognizing and appreciating the differences that we encounter is a grace.  Everyone doesn’t have to be just like us for us to appreciate them.  And, yet, when we can share something with a stranger – even for only a moment – it can be cause for celebration.

The challenge is to be able to accept, appreciate, and celebrate the cultural differences that are not so familiar to us.  Perhaps we need to open ourselves to the grace.

Recently I ran across this song on YouTube.  It haunts me and I have been listening to it several times a day – just to remind myself; just to pray; just to be in awe.

The song is by Peter Mayer and is called Holy Now.  Take a moment to listen and watch .

Beautiful words.  Beautiful music.  Perhaps there is no better way to express such grace.  Let’s not forget to take the time to open our eyes – every moment – and see the Grace of Holiness all around us.

There are more than enough times in life when doors are closed to us that it can sometimes be a surprise when a door is open.  What do we do when we encounter an open door?  The most natural response in the world is to walk right past it.  We can justify it all with words like “I don’t belong here; no one invited me in; I can’t go where I don’t know what’s on the other side;” and how many other admonitions that prevent us from taking the adventure through the open door.

Each new day is an open door.  And each day we make the choice all over again to live life to the fullest or to hold back and be safe, comfortable, and familiar.  And only we can make that choice.  No one else can make it for us.  The open door awaits us.

I noticed yesterday that even at the end of November roses are budding and, as is their destiny, opening to beauty, fragrance and full flower.

Are we choosing to remain buds forever, or are we willing to open up to our full potential by walking through the open doors into our future?

Grace will meet us if we take the step.

As anyone reading this blog knows, I love reflections – all kinds of reflections – the visual, the mental, and the spiritual.  And, there are those rare times when they all come together in a kind of holy trinity – like yesterday.

Not wanting to be on the road with thousands of others for the Thanksgiving holiday, we decided to “shelter in place.”  (Love that image from the hurricane warnings!)  The time was lovely, the weather beautiful, and it offered many opportunities for reflections.

We had time for walks and talks, music and reading, cooking and eating, talking with our family back home, and photographing, of course!

So, yesterday, at Little Falls, I was stunned by the beauty of a simple reflection.  How wonderful for nature to offer not just one image, but the reflected and intensified image in the reflection!  It was almost as if the picture were clearer in the reflection!  And I thought about how we only really know ourselves through reflections.  They can be thoughtful and prayerful reflections, or they can be reflections offered by a good friend who knows us well and can reflect back to us what we are saying or doing, thereby allowing us to see the truth in our own nature.  It is true that we only really know what we look like from the reflection in the mirror.  Is it any wonder that we only really know ourselves if we can receive the thoughtful reflections of friends and family?

And, if we are best known in reflection, how then can we know God?  In the reflected beauty of the landscape, perhaps?  Or, in the face of a loved one, the smile of a stranger, or the unrestrained laughter after a shared story?  God is reflected in all things.  We have only to acknowledge the grace to see the Creator in creation.

Reflections are grace.  Look for them to see more clearly what is real.

At this time of year we tend toward thanksgiving.  And there are so many, many things to be grateful for . . .

Simply thinking about the need to be thankful gives us opportunities to list the graces we have encountered, known, loved, shared, seen, touched, tasted, smelled, or experienced.

Naming such grace is itself a grace, and the reality of our loving God becomes present through our experience.  Remembering allows us to savor and cherish the graces we have named.

Tomorrow is a day to spend with grace, naming grace.  May we always be grateful, thankful, and filled with awe.

Just for today, a bit of folk wisdom that I ran across recently:

“Everything will be okay in the end.  If it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.”

Very funny.  But there is some truth to it as well.  It’s not unlike the old “We’ll never get out of this world alive” but there is more applicability to our everyday experiences in “Everything will be okay in the end.” 

When the plumbing doesn’t work; when the job rating isn’t clear; when the children are rebelling; when the plane is canceled; when our ankle twists on the last step; when the burner in the oven goes out right before the meat goes in; when the rains won’t stop; when the car behind us meets up with our bumper; when we can’t sleep because of anxiety; when the phone call won’t come; when the communication isn’t clear; when we don’t understand; when the tire is flat; when there is nowhere to turn for help; when the future is uncertain; and we are afraid of what will be next . . . it will all be okay in the end.  After all, it really can’t get any worse, can it?

Well, it probably can. But in the meantime, what we probably need to remember most is that grace is surrounding us through it all – all the way to the end. We are not alone and “nothing can keep us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.“  Nothing!  So, it will be okay in the end.

That’s grace.

That’s faith.

And, that’s okay.

There is one grace that every parent dreams about.  That is that our children will find a place in life with their own skills and abilities using their unique gifts and talents and enjoy what they are doing.  Just this has / is happening with one of our sons.

He is a musician and is creating / making music from his North Seattle base that is moving, inspiring, and slowly being recognized.  What a joy to know that the talents of our progeny have begun to be recognized and appreciated.

He and his girlfriend are OwlPussycat and this is their website:

http://owlpussycatisforlovers.com/

Check it out to listen to some of their beautiful music and see when they are playing next in and around the Seattle area.  It makes a parent proud.

It is a lesson to us all to let our own creative juices flow and pursue what makes us happy.  And grace will follow.

A short hop, skip, and jump from Hardy, VA and the birthplace of Booker T. Washington and we found our way to the home of Patrick Henry of Revolutionary War fame.  It is another beautiful spot nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. His house has been reconstructed to what it was like when he lived there and his law office and grave site are close by.  Notable on the grounds is a huge orange tree that was growing there when he lived on the property.

Henry is best remembered for his outspoken oratory during the war for independence.  His words “Give me liberty or give me death” remain with us to this day.

For what would we like to be remembered?  What bit of wisdom or oratory or kindness would we like to live on in the memory of others long after we have left this earth?  It’s something to think about.  I’m sure Patrick Henry didn’t say what he said to be remembered, and yet we remember him for saying it.  How will we be remembered?

Take a moment to consider the grace bestowed upon you and reflect on what of that grace you would like to leave as a legacy.  Too often we think that we do not matter and no one will remember us.  That couldn’t be farther from the truth.  We each have things we have said and done – and perhaps even without our intention – that are remembered by others as grace.

Perhaps we should take some time today to be intentional about what we would like others to remember.  Thinking about it, and acting on it, does not ensure that someone will remember us in this way, but it makes us more aware of the grace we can and should share with others now.