LITTLE GRACES

Sometimes little graces come abruptly, unexpected, and unannounced.  And then sometimes in an envelope that was delivered to the wrong address.

Little graces for me can be as uncomplex and simple as a soldier's child taking me by the index finger and leading me to see the miracle of a bug crawling and struggling with a piece of a leaf over a log, or a phone call from a friend I haven't been able to get off of my mind and never out of my heart, or watching as my dogs race out the back door to encounter sleet for the first time and stand in wonderment. Or watching them 'stand vigil,' as they sleep curled in tight little circles, sighing once in a while, as they surround my office chair where I sit writing, working, or pondering. And then a late night call from a friend who simply missed the sound of my voice, offering starlight and sweet dreams and little graces.

And there are times when graces come and perch softly on our shoulders until we wake up and notice them.  It is in these times that you realize that this is a gift that has been sent to you and perhaps been there patiently waiting for a long, long time. It is because you weren't expecting it that it appears to be an awakening, an awakening to life, to changes, to experiences and sometimes to love or sometimes to the reality of a country on the other side of the planet.

My neighbor called yesterday afternoon to tell me the post man had put an envelope addressed to me in her box by mistake (not uncommon for this post man).  I took a  break, put on a coat and went outside to meet her as we gave our dogs a reprieve from the boredom of a cold rainy winter day 'stuck' inside. 

She handed me an envelope with "Hallmark" on the back flap and an APO return address.  I anticipated another of 'my' soldiers sending a thank you note for the boxes of Pockets of Peace books (www.pennysfromheavenfoundation.org ) we had sent to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for a holiday morale boost.  But instead the envelope contained a 'little grace.'

As I pulled the card out of the envelope, a check dropped to the ground.  I stooped to pick it up and and stood with my neighbor as I read the card aloud.

"Dear Good People from PFH (Penny's from Heaven),

I am writing to contribute a small donation for my great aunt Marianne who lives in Orlando and do to illness is unable to see.  Many times dogs are just as good as medicine for the heart.  Take care and keep up the good work.

Lorna A."

This my friends is a 'little grace.' 


A soldier in combat sending us a fifteen dollar check in honor of her aunt, because she 'gets it.' 


She 'understands' and for me at that moment, at that time, the cords of my life untangled and I felt blessed. 


God Bless Lorna and God Bless our Troops