grace in irony

irony, noun: unintended connection with truth, that goes strikingly beyond the most simple and evident meaning of words or actions
of course i made the comment on here yesterday that i wanted to record the abundance of grace in my life for days when it was not as visible.  and of course, today ended up being one of those days. 

that's not fair.  i should say that today was actually a quite perfect day- beautiful weather, quality time with a friend, time to catch up on work, a thought-provoking documentary, st. patrick's day(although i didn't really celebrate it for the first time in as long as i can remember) - until i got an email this afternoon saying that i was not selected as a finalist for the job i interviewed for yesterday.  immediately i couldn't see any of the grace from today or yesterday or any day; i just felt overwhelmed with doubt and rejection.

until guess what?

i got an email from my brother that turned it all around.  i'm copying it below because i can't adequately describe the sense of peace it gave me.  the hint he's referring to in the beginning is an opening at my old elementary school in fayetteville (st. patrick's).  here it is:

Hey Cait,
first, happy ST. PATRICK'S day! i'm sure you got the hint... anyways, i just wanted to tell you to keep moving forward, have confidence in yourself and your abilities and trust in others' judgment, you'll get a job, and you'll be great at it... you excel in everything that you do and these morons who decided to hire someone else didn't do it because the other candidate was better, they did it because they don't know you, all they know is the excellent academic, social, and work record on your resume and what they found out in a damn interview... theyre scared to take a chance on a youngin' but there is no doubt in my mind you are destined for greatness... all you need is a f'in chance!!!!!!!!! keep trying, your hard work will pay off,  i'll stay frustrated for you...
love you,
love, will

slightly inappropriate?  yes.  completely biased?  totally.  grace?  absolutely.  

thank you, God, even on tough days, for making your presence known.