grateful

Immediate Impact Breast Cancer Walk

Sunday Reflection & Dedication Reading

grateful… by michelle ensminger 

for the power of being fully present to the world around me, the all the bits of pieces of myself

to share this sacred space with you, two beings, slightly broken, overflowing, fragments of the divine

to hold your hand, to carry your burden while you regain your strength

for the questions and the gentle reminders that beg me to look at the truth I am creating in my life

for the grace that holds my becoming in its center

for the horizon, flat and blurry, and beyond that, and still beyond that

for the toes my toes find in the dark

for the delicate scent of jasmine still lingering in the morning air

when two stories intersect, shifting the plot and the characters toward something more brilliant

for honey colored whispers that spin their magic into a new day

for the way the setting sun’s light shimmers off the withering hyacinth

for petals, curled, brittle, colorless, dropping one by one into a pile on the sidewalk

for leaves draped in color and tumbling, a downward, a weightless dance

for a dream being born somewhere, carried through the spiral of time by faith and courage

for the way autumn slips in with her ribbons of red and yellow, orange and gold

for the tears and bravery of others

for prayers, rising like incense to fill the space we hold

for familiar, dog-eared pages that know so well the shape of my hands

for the things that weigh heavy in me waiting to be born

for the way a moment can catch in my throat like a song needing to be sung

when scattered pieces come together, making sense for a moment, then blurring to confusion again

for the softness of breaking open, daring to be tender, daring to love, daring to be seen

for the nervous energy of unknown beginnings

for contradictory thoughts that grapple with each other until they make peace

for the palette of choices at our disposal in each moment

for the invitation to explore what it means to be called woman, mother, human

to the stillness I come back to again and again

for this breath, and this one, and this one

for love, and what else is there, really, besides love?