By Thy Grace....

Grace is something we feel, not always visibly seen with the physical eye. We say grace before food to say thank you for the abundance of food in our life, but what if we say grace before everything we do? what if Grace is a part of us no matter where we are in life. This time of the year is always bittersweet for me. It reminds me of a loss I had many years ago that sits with me everyday, but in that too I find grace - I find grace for being where I am today. I find grace for being able to move past many emotions and still survive. Ironic because while so many of us were celebrating life and gratitude, many years ago we were mourning a loss. But it was Grace that taught me to celebrate the loss and use that as a way of living and getting past it. It was Grace that pushed me to always remember that kindness, love, and service is what gets us far in life not misery, sadness and anger. So thanks to Grace I learned to honor both life and death. You see it was also a time of joy - thanksgiving was being celebrated and it was the beginning of the holiday season in the U.S.  The time of togetherness, spreading cheer and reminding ourselves of the good in life. That too is Grace. grace is all around us, we just have to catch it, breathe it, hold it and never let it go. You see, it never lets us go, it is us who lets go of grace - when we feel we don't need it anymore. We always need Grace. It is what keeps hope alive. Grace is what helps us believe in miracles -it helps us survive the loss of a loved one, it helps us beat a sickness, it helps us put food on the table, it helps us forgive those that have hurt us deeply and last but not least it is our feeling of expanding love. I say thanks to thee again and again for thy Grace.   So wherever you, whomever you are with, however you are celebrating this thanksgiving weekend, try to practice one thing - Grace. We all need it, so instead of holding on to it just for yourself, extend it to others - you don't know where it will lead you.  

There is too much sadness around us and suffering, we all have and are part of that process in some way or the other.  As we move into a new season let us each try to contribute in our way to more hope.  That has been my word for 2015 - Grace has led me to believe in HOPE, and without HOPE we cannot survive.  Look for it and you shall find it. It is there waiting for it to be seen.  Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Journal Prompt:  Grace is a five letter word.  With this word think of synonyms that define Grace, Write down at least 4-5 words without stopping. After you are done, begin writing non stop for five minutes with the following lines:  BY THY GRACE.........

Happy Journaling!