They are the golden children,
the ones for whom doors open,
the ones who face few obstacles.
And obstacles–
when they do appear–
can be stepped over or pushed aside,
and turn out to be mere annoyances
that barely impede their progress.

And then, one day,
the earth drops from beneath them
(like a Floridian sinkhole).

This is grace's gift to them,
more valuable than talent or privilege.

Grace prepares them
for their actual life,
the approach of meaning.

Grace will sit with them,
loosely holding their hands,
as reality permeates
and they come to accept
their hitherto unacknowledged boundaries.

They spend a good deal of time
blinking away the scales
of self-interest,
self-absorption,
slowly gaining softer vision,
seeing others for the first time.

And then, when they stand again–
grace standing with them, hopeful–
they face a tough choice:

    Create the best possible life
    within these borders,

    or rant and rail about the unfairness
    of not having it all.

The former leads to
if not happiness (a possibility),
then meaning, satisfaction, contentment, service. 

The latter leads to
resentment, frustration, despair.

Grace waits with infinite patience…

Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All
rights reserved.