If I’m going to be honest, there are days I feel like I have a pretty good handle on life. I work on making lists. If I’m lucky, I get to check a few things off.

For a brief and shining moment, I think I’m making real progress. Then I realize that everything is still a work in progress.

So here I am.

Still working to figure everything out.

Working to find a quiet mind, so I can stop and pray.

Just me, with God.

I want to be more patient.

I want to be peaceful.

Apparently my brain has signed up for a full-time job narrating every possible outcome.

Sometimes I get tired, distracted, and defensive.

And still, somewhere underneath all of that, I want to be open.

Open to grace.

Open to wisdom.

Open to being surprised by goodness.

Open to notice the sacred in ordinary things.

In a text from a friend.

In a comfortable beverage.

In laughter.

In a deep breath.

In the small kindnesses that will never make headlines.

Remind me that I do not have to fix everything today.

That God will remind me that being human is not a failure.

That I will find myself in a place where love does its best work.

Give me enough courage to always move forward.

Enough humility to admit when I am wrong.

Enough humor to not take myself too seriously.

Enough hope to keep going when the road feels longer than I expected.

And when I forget all of this, which I probably will, gently bring me back.

Back to love.

Back to gratitude.

Back to myself.

Back to God with a story to share.

Fr. Keith+