Gifts from the Sea -or- Seek and FIND

"I would like to achieve a state of inner spiritual grace from which I could function and give as I was meant to in the eye of God...
Vague as this definition may be, I believe most people are aware of periods of in their lives where they seem to be "in grace" and other periods where they feel "out of grace," even though they may use different words to describe these states.  In the first happy condition, one seems to carry all one's tasks before one lightly, as if borne along a great tide; and in the opposite state one can hardly tie a shoe-string.  It is true that a large part of life consists in learning a technique of tying the shoe-string, whether one is in grace or not.  But there are techniques of living too; there are even techniques in the search for grace.  And techniques can be cultivated.  I have learned by some experience, by many examples, and by the writing of countless others, also occupied in the search, that certain environments, certain modes of life, certain rules of conduct are more conducive to inner and outer harmony than others.  There are, in fact, certain roads that one may follow.  Simplification of life is one of them."
-Excerpt from "Gift from the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I  too, would like to achieve a state of inner spiritual grace.  And I am finding along this journey, as did Anne, that there are many pieces to this puzzle.  There is simplification, for certain.  There is also a "letting go."  There is acceptance.  There is the growing in wisdom. There is fierce determination.  There is rest. As I've been slowly absorbing the beautiful wisdom in this treasure of a book, I've been gazing inward and outward. I first see the obvious, the shape of my life, what is right there in front of my face...kids, husband, friends, daily tasks of life and work, the comings and goings of a working mother.  The tides of life.  Much grace to be sought here.  These 'pieces' could easily turn into chaos, and truthfully, some days they do and I feel like I can barely reach the shoe-string, let alone tie it.  I might find myself tumbling wildly under the surf.

Then I look deeper...family dynamics, relationships, my presence and the way I affect all that is life and work and play, my inner spiritual life.  Here, the grace is deeper.  Here, where I have conversations... with myself and with God.  Here where there is internal awareness of the sacred, the holy, the unspoken truths that glisten like the sand...where He reveals His heart to His beloved daughter.  Sometimes GRACE is loud and crashing down like the surge of the tide, and sometimes it is more predictable and quiet...but always consistent, never ceasing, the ebb and flow.  The joy comes when the tide leaves it's gifts/treasures on the shore...and this is the blessing of "Gift from the Sea".  The gifts of GRACE, scattered along the shores of life, to be handled and examined with all of their mystery and wonder and unfathomable beauty.  We are ALL blessed with these gifts.  The challenge some days is to take much needed time to walk the shore and seek...and FIND!!!!