Initiation

Just some quick thoughts before I go to sleep.

Today is the anniversary of my Baptism. The rain patters overhead on our thin roof, everyone snores about me (husband, daughter, dogs), and I sit here and think of the many ways my faith has led me to this point, with and without my help.

I find it extraordinary.

There are so many ways to initiate one's life--some we choose and some foisted upon us. Yesterday I recalled that phone call of dread three years ago when I heard my uncle had died--and all the changes since then. He's anointed, in the heavens with all those our family misses, and his death began in those left behind a desire to be healthy, to love fully, live wide and large. It was a different kind of baptism--death and birth and everyday living can grace us with those moments.

Sometimes the most ordinary experience can make us stop in our tracks and think of the life we're given. The other day it was watching my dog, Dot, lift her head and howl straight up at the sky, for nothing less than the sound of sirens in the distance (which she thought was her pack). She felt a calling--however silly it may seem to us that she returned the call to not other dogs, but to someone responding to an emergency. Maybe she knows better--but it was a beautiful thing to witness.

Each day, I extract joy from what I read about and see of others' happiness. Thanks for sharing, my friends, and know that I pray for you this moment.