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Grace … in media res: (in the middle of things)

by Laurie Klein 18 Chiming In

Grace … in media res

“In the Middle of Things”

Between our creaking dock
and the park’s rocky point,
leaching blue
from Fowler Lake’s surface,
the perilous sandbar lurked.

Rowing across it one day,
I spied my future:
strewn across restless sand,
a scatter of strange shells.

Grace incognito

Shells meant PEARLS.

And P.E.A.R.L.S. meant . . . CA$H!

Any kid who loves books
can tell you

• Pearls fall from the sky
when dragons fight, and
• Pearls always match the color
of the host oyster’s lips, and
• Pearls are made of moonlight,
trapped inside dew

The part about salt water?—
completely escaped my notice.

What would I buy first?

Sixty Years later

As a kid obsessed with treasure I’d probably spotted freshwater mussels. My schemes of wealth now seem endearing.

But the wide-open heart, the hope and dreaming … this is still me.

Especially in media res, “in the middle of things.”

It is the hour of pearl, Steinbeck wrote, the interval between day and night when time stops and examines itself.

Isn’t this how we often awaken, half-aware

• the dog wants breakfast
• deadlines loom
• chores clamor
• sellers may reject our bids
• loved ones battle disease
• hopes wane
• relationships fray

Where are the PEARLS?

Pain proves annoyingly democratic:

and almost all shelled mollusks afflicted by broken shells, or parasites, or one measly grain of sand can—incrementally—create a living gem.

… the pearl is the oyster’s autobiography.*

We mortals, too, must process harm and grit and doses of brine, withstand rogue currents and shifting ground—while keeping our (eventual) luster hopefully strung through average days.

Give me room. I’m trying to make pearls here.

No.

I’m trying to save my self.

And I can’t.

Grace is weightless

(So Ann Voskamp writes.)

And wait-less, I’d add.

Grace is a gleam in the soul. It soothes and guards us against each day’s irritations and intrusions.

Grace is a pulling force, attracted to tacit fear and each relational shard we secretly harbor, or overlook, the mediocrity chafing our days and thoughts, our loves, and lives.

Grace lurks.

And it shifts, as needed, to meet our next breath.

Singular as each whorl
embossing our fingertips,
every pearl embodies
opalescence alongside
insult and imperfection.

Grace waits for us at the imminent, ravaged ends of hope.

Any pearl sightings at your place lately?lauriekleinscribe logo


*Frederico Fellini, Italian film director and screenwriter.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Oyster Photo by Charlotte Coneybeer on Unsplash

Filed Under: Immersions Tagged With: grace, hope, in media res, pain, pearls, wait-less, weightless December 14, 2018

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  1. Gena Bradford says

    December 18, 2018 at 8:55 am

    This post was so beautiful it took me to places visually like a journey of wonder. You expressed pain in beautiful metaphors causing the journey to be holy. I know God will see you through for you too are a beautiful work of art. Praying for Kristin and Bill and you.

    Reply
    • Laurie Klein says

      December 18, 2018 at 4:35 pm

      Dear Gena, thank you for letting the words transport you and, even more, for making the journey toward hope alongside us. We appreciate you and the shared years of love and faithful friendship and prayers so much. The surgeon said it went well today. 🙂

      Reply
  2. April Yamasaki says

    December 17, 2018 at 9:59 pm

    As always, thank you for sharing from the heart and with great beauty. Wishing you continued grit and grace especially in this season that holds both challenges and celebration.

    Reply
    • Laurie Klein says

      December 17, 2018 at 10:25 pm

      April, sincere thanks and gratitude. I’m latching onto your word “continued” with a quiet nod of my head tonight.

      Grit/grace/challenge/celebration: seeing those four nouns visually sharing space (almost holding hands in the sentence) does me good.

      Also, I am so glad to have read YOUR post today.

      Reply
  3. Pacia Dixon says

    December 17, 2018 at 5:56 pm

    There are no adequate words to express my deepest appreciation for the way you spin the grit into pearls. Praying with you and for you, in all this “in media res”.

    Reply
    • Laurie Klein says

      December 17, 2018 at 9:55 pm

      Dear Pacia, thank you so much. I think of your marvelous works of clay and how you, too, spin grit into beauty. No wonder we connected, right from the start. 🙂 Merry Christmas, friend!

      Reply
  4. Jody Collins says

    December 17, 2018 at 5:47 pm

    Oh my, so many reasons to be on the lookout for pearls….my friend. Praying for you all in this season of media res and “each day’s irritations and intrusions.”

    Reply
    • Laurie Klein says

      December 17, 2018 at 9:52 pm

      Oh I do like that phrase, “on the lookout”! It sounds proactive and expectant, just what I hope to be in these coming days. Thank you so much for your prayers, Jody.

      Reply
  5. Nancy Ruegg says

    December 17, 2018 at 2:04 pm

    “Give me room. I’m trying to make pearls here.” LOVE THAT! Oh, Lord, help me make pearls out of annoyances, interruptions, uncertainties, inconveniences, etc. Thank you for the recent pearl sightings of granddaughter laughter, genuine concern, on-the-spot prayer, wise advice, and unexpected encouragement. You DO provide glorious opalescence alongside the insult and imperfection of this world. / Thank you, Laurie, for artfully turning our focus from irritation to iridescence!

    Reply
    • Laurie Klein says

      December 17, 2018 at 3:02 pm

      Nancy, your pearl sightings! Marvelous. Thanks so much for sharing them. You open my eyes to more possibilities.

      And your closing line: “irritation to iridescence” . . . wouldn’t that be a great journal cover?!

      Or we could design a t-shirt . . .

      Or best of all: simply embody the concept. 🙂 Merry Christmas, friend!

      Reply
  6. Katherine says

    December 17, 2018 at 8:45 am

    Oh, amazing! You seem to write what God has been working in my heart all along. Thank you friend!
    Give Grace, Take Joy! ?
    Katherine

    Reply
    • Laurie Klein says

      December 17, 2018 at 9:17 am

      Amazing, indeed. 🙂 And I still love your signature line (including the little piece of shared history it represents). Merry Christmas to you!

      Reply
  7. Kathleen Thompson says

    December 17, 2018 at 5:45 am

    Praying for your family, and watching for grace.

    Reply
    • Laurie Klein says

      December 17, 2018 at 9:15 am

      Kathleen, thank you for keeping watch with me. Such tender threads between long-distance friends.

      Reply
  8. Judith Dupree says

    December 15, 2018 at 12:46 pm

    Laurie, you have a way of distilling things too large or opaque or vague to focus our inner Eye upon. Clarity doesn’t “come easy;” we are all born half-Blind. Somehow John 9:6 fits in here: The blind man, the mud of earth, the spittle of God. The Ultimate “natural remedy” that blended earth & heaven. That crowns the oyster with the rasp of a bit of grit. That gives you a Song that opens up your deafness. And ours.

    Here’s mud in your eye, girl!

    Reply
    • Laurie Klein says

      December 15, 2018 at 3:11 pm

      Hello, dear Judith. Your words , as ever, make me smile. And think. So often I wonder if I am diluting, rather than distilling. I’m glad to know this was a case of the latter. What an encouragement you are!

      Your language arrests me—the verb “crown,” especially. It helps me view “the rasp … of grit” as an intentional act of entrusting the critter with a dose of pain, a divinely loving largess (in disguise). Thanks for widening my view.

      And YES to the mud that expands our senses! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Katie says

    December 15, 2018 at 11:16 am

    Laurie,

    Beautiful thoughts and images:

    “Pearls are made of moonlight, trapped inside dew.”

    “It is the hour of pearl – Steinbeck wrote, the interval between day and night
    when time stops and examines itself.”

    “. . .the pearl is the oyster’s autobiography.” Frederico Fellini

    Blessings to you and yours this Advent:)

    Gratefully,

    Katie

    Reply
    • Laurie Klein says

      December 15, 2018 at 3:03 pm

      Katie, thank you so much for stopping by and letting me know which images and ideas struck you. That is so helpful and encouraging! I loved the sentences you chose as well when I stumbled upon them. Wishing you joy this whole month!

      Reply
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