Patience and Grace

We’ve been in Mayport for a week now.  Walks on the beach, trips to the fitness center, exploring, surf fishing, and meeting new friends – all benefits.  Got to see an alligator in our park, and a weird fish on the beach – extra bonus!

I’ve learned about patience – and it comes with grace.  It was really tempting to jump into running, classes at the fitness center, and generally trying to go full tilt right from the start.  Instead, I made the decision to start out walking and acclimating to the heat and humidity.  I chose to start with yoga class, and swimming.  And to ease up a bit when my body asked for that.  When it felt right, I experimented with a short run.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that my body remembered how to do that!

Grace abounds in reaching out to talk to others, listening to their story.  Sitting quietly with them, or just chatting.  Actual face-to-face interaction – almost like writing letters – a lost art.  Grace is found in sitting quietly outside, knitting, and listening to the noises around you. (The patience part got to be a little challenging with the knitting – still looking for the knitting fairy to come fix a little problem.)

Grace is letting go with both hands and holding them open for the new.