FETCH ME GRACE

This morning during my yoga practice, the instructor asked us to ponder, “What do you want your practice to bring you closer to?” I reflected for a second and then the word grace emerged.

I don’t consider myself a religious person. While I went to Sunday school and church every week growing up, as an adult my spirituality has been a much more fluid and ever evolving aspect of my life.

Through loss, my relationship with Source, Divine, God or whatever you want to call it, has been complicated; an expedition in exploring my own beliefs to develop my own solid ground that I can lean on during hard times and bestow daily gratitude for the blessings in my life.

One thing Divine source has shown me is that whenever I have been emotionally and mentally bankrupt, acts of grace have been what’s gotten me through.

Grace is that gift sent to you in your moment of reaching towards a higher power for an answer, for refuge, or for healing that comes along right when you need it; sometimes it is an answer to a prayer, other times it is a blessing that you didn’t know you needed.

Over the years, the purest and most tangible gifts of grace I have received have been my dogs.

When I needed a fiercely loyal companion to ride shotgun on the rollercoaster of life, grace sent me Nala.

When I needed a rescue from a life changing breakup to guide my way towards a second chance, grace sent me Aiden.

When I needed a purpose and a place within my community, grace sent me Koda.

And, when I needed something to save Koda from the depths of his grief that wrapped him in anxiety and anorexia, grace sent me Ru.

Right now, I feel the world could use a whole lot of grace. And so could I. For a while now the world has felt like it‘s spinning off its axis. Life is hard. The pandemic and our current political climate have made it harder. I feel like I am in a constant state of reacting or over reacting, which creates and endless cycle of worry and anxiety. It’s exhausting, I just want some peace—in the world, in my life and inside my my mind, heart and soul.

So I could use some grace….

…for letting go and detaching from the chaos spiraling around me, from circumstances I have no control of, and of the people and things that no longer serve me.

…for when things to fall apart or don’t go as planned.

…for when I am treading in the depths of loneliness.

…for when I am consumed and suffocated by my grief.

…for when darkness falls and there’s no hope to be found.

I seek grace in the form of sunlight that dances off the ocean waves, the smell of pine permeating the air on a mountain climb, adventures that inspire new goals, music that heals the brokenhearted, loyal friends who stand by you, and a love that helps you become the best version of yourself.

There are gifts of grace all around us just waiting to be acknowledged, accepted and embraced.

Sometimes they are hidden and take a discerning eye to reveal them; sometimes they come in unexpected ways and sometimes they require patience as the Divine aligns in timing. Nala, Aiden, Koda and Ru are proof of that.

At times it is not until I am looking at life in the rear view mirror that I see an act of grace playing out in my life; but Nala, Aiden, Koda and Ru remind me every day that all I need to do is ask and they’ll be there, on earth or in spirit, to Fetch me Grace.

Love Stacey, Aiden, Nala, Koda and Ru