Clumsily graceful

Here's what happened, I think.

I stubbed my toe on my faith,
stumbled, lost my balance
and then...



bumped into God.
(who smiled and shook his head at me because that's what love does)

Remembering the burning bush incident,
when God told Moses to take off his sandals
because he was standing on holy ground. 

Now here I am,
walking  barefoot on sacred ground.
Stubbing my toes while seeking grace.
Clumsily graceful? Perhaps.

Following those who have gone before me.
Glimpses of the sacred, everywhere I look,
if I only remember to see. to believe

Hoping that my children and their children and their children
(all people really)
might stub their toes as well. 
Knowing that when they stumble, if they fall, when they fall,
they will find themselves safe 

in loving arms.

Hope is in the sunrise

He found his fullness in the empty space
suspended above the powder.

Pushing limits, always pushing limits, yes?

It's crazy how his hopes and dreams must have felt just beyond his reach,
even as he helped so many others realize their own.

His smile could light up - the world, actually.
Yet he was so often consumed by a fierce and overwhelming darkness.

If only?
Yes, if only.

I cannot understand the world as he saw it,
or life as he experienced it,
or the heavy weight he carried.

But I was witness to the pain of those
who tried so hard to help him on his journey.
Who did their best to love him. Who did love him.
Completely. Through it all.

Now, in a way, it feels over, but really there is so much more.

Hope is in the sunrise.
Indeed.

(I wrote this for my friends who lost their son, an amazing skier, in an avalanche recently. The backcountry was where he found peace from the struggles he faced in day to day life. I hope to cling to the lessons he taught me. I hope to honor the love of his family and friends. Rest in peace Adam.)