Facing Grace

Sometimes grace is barely a whisper, a miniature moment hardly discernible to the naked eye. But there are moments that throttle you, hyper speed and loud as thunder, and you know you will never be the same. That is the grace I found this week.

I can’t stop thinking about the Buddhists. “When the student is ready the teacher appears.” But I always seem to cast myself on the wrong side of the curtain. I know better this morning, with the sun finally shining in the cold March air and my limbs sore from my morning’s run. The glorious gift of a day spreads before me. And I have an entirely new view of the world.

It started innocently enough. I’ve been trying to eke out some spare change as a writer. Good for my bank account AND my self-esteem. Picked up a gig for the glossy Ignatius magazine, infrequent but fairly lucrative. My newest assignment seemed simple, a quick profile of an Ignatius grad who was injured in a diving accident.

But then the teacher appears. I arrive at the nursing home to meet him for a quick interview. And two and a half hours later, I exit his room and I know I will never be the same. In between I learn more about faith and resilience and hope than I can believe.

He’s paralyzed from the shoulders down. It’s been a year and half since he dove off the dock and changed his life forever. He can’t hug his family or pet his cat or scratch his nose. But what he can do? Man, does he shine. I have never met a man who spoke so passionately about his faith. And his idealism. And his love for his family. And the way his Bucket List changed from climbing Mount Everest and riding a bull to hugging his mother and building a home for other young quadriplegics like himself.

I cannot do him justice in writing. You have to be in the room with his energy and his unwavering faith to get the full affect. He’s not a Pollyanna and he’s no hero. Just a man who is making the best of the situation he’s in.

He told me he’s not afraid to pray big and make each day better than the last. That’s just the grace I need. Pray big. Work hard. Move slowly and surely in the direction of my dreams. Such a great lesson from such an amazing teacher.


Find some grace yourself: scottwfedor.com