Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Grace arrives at odd moments.

Have you ever had a strong sensory memory? A memory that jolts you out of the blue, but lacks a particular event that goes with the sensory memory, sort of just a feeling that pops up? That happened to me today. It's been raining heavily here in Florida over the past week or two. Today was a very rainy and wet day. I decided to walk outside after dinner because the rain had slacked off. As I was walking to the mailbox, a very strong sensory memory struck me. It reminded me of my summers as a child. I remembered the feeling that I would get as a child after it had rained. The daylight coming to a close as the wetness of the rain begins to evaporate. How the wet grass would feel on my bare feet. The steam as it would rise from the ground in the hot, damp air. The smell of freshly cut grass after it was sprinkled with a late afternoon shower as is so common in Florida. How it felt to chase lightning bugs at night after the day had been spent inside because it was too rainy to play outside.

Most of all, I recaptured some sensory memories of my father. I repressed many of my childhood memories of my father after his death when I was nine years old.

These sensory memories didn't really include a specific event, but they were a jolt upon the mountain of ice where I have stored happy memories of my childhood with my dad.

I struggled to try and remember something specific. But, nothing came.

Gratefulness is key to receiving grace. So, I'm thankful that I was graced with just a brief moment of feeling like a child again.

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