Grace abounds

So, for Christmas I got a wonderful DVD of U2 Live at the Rose Bowl, and at the end of "City of Blinding Lights," ( see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhCezZQqxx4&ob=av3n) Bono stops and talks to the audience, saying,

"Blessings... not just for the ones who kneel-- luckily. Luckily. Grace abounds..." and then goes off and introduces the next song, which may or may not be "Amazing Grace" --although rewatching the DVD, I actually don't think it is. But it's gotten me thinking. Grace does abound, and when we least expect it, it lightly freshens us when we feel so pitifully helpless and dirty.

Helpless and dirty is basically what I've been feeling this past two weeks, so you'll have to bear with me. I've been sick with what has been the worst illness I've had since Rachel and I have been married, and apparently being sick with very small children is like the exact opposite of what being sick used to be like. I'll draw you a quick table:

Before Kids

-- feel sick; sleep until 7:30 and rest

--watch a movie and doze in and out

-- take NyQuil and fall asleep instantly

--recover in one day

After Kids

-- feel sick; sleep in until 4:45 when Judah gets up

-- watch mayhem unfold in front of me

-- forget to take NyQuil b/c Elijah is screaming too loud

-- still recovering two weeks later

... yup, that about sums it up. Oh, and I lost half my lung capacity and (in a subject I'm not willing to broach yet) the Giants beat the Patriots again. All in all, not my favorite two weeks.

And yet, grace abounds. Woven throughout these two miserable weeks were little flashes of mysterious wondrousness, like the morning pictured above when, sick as a dog, I dragged myself downstairs to feed the two beautiful monsters, and halfway through breakfast, it got silent. It's never silent in the morning-- never. Judah smiled and contentedly ate his Cheerios, and when Elijah did break the silence, it was to say things like: "Thank you for feeding me my cereal, Daddy."

"Well, you're welcome, Elijah."

"I really appreciate it. I love you, Daddy..." and the like. Now, for the record, he will do this from time to time (it's delightful) but the peaceful silence, followed by the wonderful words amidst the diseased muddle I was in, simply put it over the top. I took a couple pictures to remind myself of the moment and laid down, but moments like that are snapshots of grace, and I personally think I can't get too many of them. So there it is, my friends.

GRACE ABOUNDS.