A thought...

Minnesota Zoo, Butterfly Garden, 8.12.10



I don’t know what will happen next, but...
What I do know is:
I have been given faith to live until the next moment,
I have found peace in the midst of chaos,
I have been given grace to ease the way,
I have been held in the midst of deep grief and loss,
and...
I have been surrounded by love in the midst of it all.

And for now, that is all I need to know.

For this, and so much more, I am grateful.

Rest...

North Shore, July 2009 (c) Erica Staab

Come rest in the arms of love,
come take shelter in the space made for you,
come release all you hold so tightly to,
come and breathe...

it is warm here,
let all that you cling to melt away,
in this space you are enough.
Just as you are,
just in this moment.
Enough.

Stop striving to be anywhere but here...
here is where healing begins,
here is where love takes flight.
Here is where you rest in wholeness.

Come rest in the arms of love.

Deep breath...

Allow yourself to simply be,

let this moment fill you- whatever it is, wherever you are, whatever it brings

sink into the moment of peace, of pain, of what is.

The pain will not break you, even though it may feel as though it will.

The peace will carry you, even though sometimes it feels closer than others.

The joy will sustain you, even when it feels fleeting.

The grief will ebb and flow, the healing will land softly in it's own time.

And tomorrow will hold it's own grace, it's own challenges and opportunities.

For this moment choose to be wherever you are.

What we learn...

It was my grandpa's 90th birthday recently.

And I feel like these three pictures tell his story more than I could.

His love of learning, his zest for life, for figuring things out, always looking up, his love of sharing knowlege and his love for family.

I have learned a lot from him, and I have realized that we have several things in common.

He asks questions about mechanical things and systems of doing things... his life is rooted in the farm, in the building and rebuilding, in the seasons of life as they roll on though. He has never met a stranger, just a friend he hasn't gotten to know quite yet, and often he will start a conversation with a question, believing that someone else has some sort of knowledge to impart that will help him understand the world.

I too ask questions, and although I don't delve in the realm of mechanics and tractors, I ask questions about people, about why they work. After watching for years him help people feel at ease and comfortable in the world I try to do the same.

Always with a sparkle in his eye, a long stride and an ever-ready laugh.

Happy 90th Grandpa!

Letting Grace in...

Nelson Farm- Barn Light (c) Erica Staab

Sometimes you need to make room for grace and light to enter.

Drinking Deeply...

Surround yourself with people who drink deeply of life.

People who show up, who are willing to laugh, to play, to learn,

people who are willing to make mistakes,

who travel lightly and tread carefully in the realm of the heart

but most importantly...

surround yourself with people who live to love.

Longing...

Stone Barn Window (c) E. Staab

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the sea.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery


What do you long for?
What lights you up and causes you to burst with energy, awe and excitement?
What have you done to share that longing with another?

I recently went on a family adventure to go see this beautiful Stone barn that was made in the early 1920's. It was built by a master craftsman who obviously took pride in his work. It was amazing the details and the forward thinking that was inherent in the design and the workmanship of the barn. And although much of it has fallen victim to time and weather the beauty remains.