Grace Notes

I have to write. It is healing. It is soothing, but for the moment there aren't any words coming. Lots of thoughts, but no words.

But God's arms around me, and His angels caring for me. You know, angels are often other people who just say the perfect thing at the perfect time, or provide just that lift of encouragement needed just at that time, that time that is for such a time as this.

My dad was an angel to many.

So there are two grace stories...and believe me there are plenty more where these come from...

When I got home the first time, last week, there were copies of quotes on the kitchen island for me. Beautiful quotes.

Allow me to share them with you:

"God give us the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed; Courage to change the things that should be changed; and the wisdom to distinguish the one from t he other."
-Rienhold Niebuhr

"Wherever you are is the entry point."
-Kabir

"We never how know high we are till we are called to rise."
-Emily Dickinson

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
-Marcel Proust

"Bless not only the road but the bumps on the road. They are all part of the higher journey."
-Julia Cameron

"Dreams are...illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you."
-Marsha Norman

Wow! But the really amazing part is when I asked Howie about them, he had no idea where they had come from.

And now my words from my dear sweet all purpose go to girl, Connie, who is a beautiful writer, and has been having much success in that area lately. Kudos Connie!

This is her blog post from the week my dad died. And I will add the significance at the end.

"This is the month of sweetheart roses and valentines, but it’s also the month of red.

There are red dresses to symbolize American Heart Health (Go Red for Women!); there are the red heart stamps that I just found this morning stuck in an envelope (I knew I would find them!) before USPS increased postage again in May, and just this morning, I peeked outside to find a red cardinal on my neighbor’s flower ornament.

I checked twice to make sure it was real.Yep, it was real!I dashed upstairs, got my camera, and gingerly opened the sliding door to the back porch. I prayed that it would stay still long enough for me to take just ONE picture. I held my breath, pointed, and clicked.

So what’s the big deal about a cardinal in the snow?I have been chasing cardinals for as long as I can remember and it’s as if they knew it was on my passionate to-do list.“Can’t catch me!” I could hear them squawk back.But today the cardinal cooperated. And what a better day: fluffy snow and a red tree as a backdrop. Now I can scratch that one off my passionate to-do list.It sure does the heart good to know that I don’t have to slip, slide, and chase down red birds in the snow.I love the color red—don’t you?"

But Connie told me the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say. There is special significance to Connie for light snowfall and red cardinals in the month of February.

I called her shortly after my dad had died. She told me she already knew and had been praying for me. She told me how she has lost loved ones in February, and it has always been heralded by a fresh snow and the bright contrast of the bright red cardinal. When she awoke on Wednesday morning a light snow was falling. And in the stillness of the early hour, a red cardinal perched on the tree outside her window. A day after she wrote this post.

I thank God for touches of grace.

Peace on your journey.