There are particular graces that attend beginnings,
and mercies that wait to meet us when we are setting out into unknown terrain.
Just as we cannot know with certainty what the terrain will hold,
we cannot know at the outset what these graces will look like.
They can take all manner of forms:
a curious occasion of provision,
a seemingly chance meeting that holds a surprising gift,
sustenance that arrives when we need it most,
space to rest and regather.
I think of such occasions as small-g graces
that bear witness to Big Grace, Grace-with-a-capital-G,
the Grace of God.
Flowing out from Big Grace,
graces enter into the details of our lives,
finding their way into the nooks and crannies of our path.
Graces help us begin, and they help us keep going.
They are part of the secret of the journey.
~ Jan Richardson