Let Me Live Easily and Gracefully

penned by Rev. AndreaGrace

I’ve been trying to connect

with a mentor-became-friend

for months

I text: I’m here for three days

She arrives a few hour later

We sit on the porch

the breeze tickles our cheeks

as the sun warms them

the birds serenade us

as the ocean waves soothe us

the clear blue sky connotes joyful peace

and enfolds us with hope

We share from our hearts

what was

what is

and speculate about what is to come

the pains

the fears

the joys

the curiosities

                  “if you had a magic wand to wave….”

Our time together feels luscious

         even decadent

                  heavenly

She leaves

A spiritual sister calls

With her hello

I can hear the pain in her voice

there is cancer in her husband’s lymph nodes

She cries

I offer:

I have no words

I AM breathing with you

We breathe

together

in silence

though miles separate us

I am embracing you

God is holding you

I breathe

She cries

and shares from her heart

what was

what is

and speculates about what is to come

I offer a prayer

with words

and finish with

“I love you”

As we hang up

her load is lighter

She is reminded

she is not alone

In the morning

         after watching the sunrise

         I’m drawn to a prayer book

         and open to:

“Let me live grace-fully

         thank you [Great I AM]

for this season of sun

and slow motion…

and praise for slight breezes…

Let this season be for me

a time of gathering together the pieces

into which my busyness has broken me…

O God, enable me now

to grow wise through reflection…

peaceful through the song [of nature]

recreated through the laughter of play [and creating]

Let me live easily and grace-fully for a spell

so that I may see other souls deeply,

share in a silence unhurried

listen to the sounds of sunlight and shadows

explore barefoot the land of forgotten dreams and shy hopes

and find the right words to tell another who I AM.*

Yesterday,

I was known

and I knew

LOVE

*Let Me Live Grace-fully from Guerillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle by Ted Loder