Life is Hard, You Know?

Yesterday, my sister broke her leg. Again. The same leg as she broke just a little while ago. The femur this time. She uses a wheelchair, which means her legs never bear weight, thus her bones are brittle. No amount of calcium supplements will solve that particular problem. She finds out later today if she needs surgery. She's in a lot of pain and she and her family are facing the possibility of having to cancel a long-planned and very special vacation. It makes me cry to think about it.

In recent days, I've spoken to friends who are suffering hard things as well. Really hard things. People have lost family members. Children are sick. Jobs have been lost. There have been injuries and accidents. More tears. 

Life is hard and it's easy to get discouraged and be sad. Actually, we're supposed to be sad. In the body, pain is natural response to injury. When our hearts are injured, there's just going to be pain. I'm feeling it in small fractions on behalf of my loved ones, I tell you. 

But here's the thing. All these people I'm thinking of are coping with their pain with amazing grace. Truly amazing. Like this: 

My sister determinedly looks at the bright side every single time. When I spoke to her yesterday, she took time to tell me the whole story of what happened, meanwhile she was doing her thing, monitoring her kids, directing traffic, etc. She was resting and was definitely sad for some losses, but she's already in Plan B mode. She's determined that things will be okay. I love that. 

Others I'm mourning with are doing great things like asking for help in big ways and small, sharing their pain, honoring those they love, and just moving forward. They might still be crying and yelling and and asking "Why?" while they are moving forward, but they haven't stopped moving. I love that, too. 

I've been slowed down and burdened by some hard things for a while now. A long while. I've kept moving forward, but not always with that elusive quality of grace I'd like. It's how we all feel. It's such a different view from the inside of our heads to the eyes of observers. Even though I'm hard on myself,  I am smart enough to be grateful the sun still shines on this road, and usually I remember that gratitude and feel the touch of grace I seek. Sometimes I do forget, and it's good to be reminded to look up again. 

Here's some inspiration if you need it.