coastal graces

we have been here at the beach all week and it has just been delightful.  no, not warm enough to swim in the ocean or even sunbathe, but the perfect place to escape the distractions of home and enjoy one another's company!  here are some glimpses of our time together:

Sea birds lined up on the pier in Southport

Horseshoe Crab shell found on beach walk

One of many beautiful historic homes in Southport

Oak Island Lighthouse

 On our last afternoon at the beach, we were watching the beginning of the sunset and a pod of porpoises  swam by!  What a treat!  My little camera tried very hard to capture their activity...

The week was full of relaxation, reading, talking, playing games, walking, and great food.  Couldn't have asked for a better holiday!

grace in one's first ever white christmas

yes, i went to college in the mountains, where it snowed frequently.  yes, i live in new england, where it snows frequently.  but, dear readers, i must tell you...i have never before experienced a white christmas.  there is something so rare and beautiful about this to me...a rarity i have sung about in many a carol, but never seen with my own eyes.  until now!  the day started as every other christmas i remember- with all of us children-at-heart mozying out of bed and downstairs to see if santa came (although in recent years coffee has taken precedence over presents), followed by the trip to raleigh to share christmas dinner with grandma and granddad...but there was a special wonder in the air as we periodically checked the forecast and wouldn't you know it, as we headed home, the flakes started to fall!  they fell all through the night, and when we woke up the next morning, our front yard was a winter wonderland:

what a joy!  we enjoyed the whole day "snowbound"...spending quality time together, reading, cooking, drinking tea and coffee, and just in awe of the 8.5 inches of beauty that seemed to have magically appeared!  how grateful i am to have finally enjoyed a white christmas...with my family...in the land of sweet tea...a day i never thought we'd actually see!

grace in the messiness of life

this past week has been emotionally draining.  multiple deaths, wakes, funerals...none of them older people who died a "normal" death.  i don't attempt to understand these kinds of tragic events...i'm a feeler, not at thinker, according to myers-briggs.  all i know is how i feel.  and i just feel so sad- sad that the world has lost these wonderful people, sad that i won't ever see their smiling faces again, sad for their children and spouses...sad that this had to happen right before Christmas.  

at mass this morning, father's homily was all about the messiness of life.  he made the connection to the messiness of the holy family's less-than-ideal beginnings...mary pregnant out of wedlock, joseph marrying a young pregnant woman, the savior of the world coming as a tiny, vulnerable baby in a messy stable.  we don't plan for messiness, or expect it, but God constantly surprises us in unexpected ways, and instead of trying to escape the messiness that is life, God wants us to seek him there, because that's where he is...emmanuel...God is with us.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change, the courage to change the things i can, and the wisdom to know the difference.  grant us the grace to seek you in the messiness.