St. Luke's Brush

"I can say it certain now: All is grace. I can see through the woods of the world: God is always good and I am always loved. God is always good and I am always loved. Everything is eucharisteo. Because eucharisteo is how Jesus, at the Last Supper, showed us to transfigure all things-take the pain that is given, give thanks for it, and transform it into a joy that fulfills all emptiness. I have glimpsed it: This, the hard eucharisteo. The hard discipline to lean into the ugly and whisper thanks to transfigure it into beauty. The hard discipline to give thanks for all things at all times because He is all good. The hard discipline to number the griefs as grace...."
One Thousand Gifts: Ann Voskamp

I can remember the phone call like it was yesterday. I remember where I was standing in the kitchen, his calm voice, his reassurances....and I felt like the world fell out from under me. Darkness seemed to fall. I could see no grace. Only loss, betrayal, confusion and most of all fear. Never would I have believed the journey we would travel the next year. How foolish....I am old enough to know that God's plans are always far better than my own!  And so he packed up his office and came home that summer. We stumbled through, trying to find a normal for our sweet children.  And as a new school year got under way, an idea took form. All grace. A long buried talent brought out into the light.  And so our journey as St. Luke's Brush began.

I could focus on all of the hurts & disappointments of the last year. But each one has taught us. Each one has brought us closer to the family God is calling us to be. All is grace.