Grace

I found an email I wrote in October 2010, and I thought it would be suitable for a blog post so here it is.

A year and a half ago I was walking to work, same as I've been doing for years, and I fell and broke my wrist. It was an example of how things can just happen in an instant.

When something good happens that we didn't work for and earn, something good that is just a gift and blessing, that's what I think of as "grace."

 When bad things happen, I'm not sure what to call it, maybe "fate."

 I don't believe in fate in the sense that I don't think it's good to have an attitude like, "Life sucks and that is just my fate so I won't try to make it better."

 But things just happen, they just come upon us for no reason. Good things happen and bad things happen. 

We can go on for years with things being ordinary, and then we can be abruptly hit by something tragic or something wonderful.

I sat out on my balcony tonight and gazed at the trees and stars. In my 44 years, it's a miracle that nothing has struck my eyes to render them blind. Every moment that I can gaze upon stars is a gift. Every moment that we are alive is a miracle.