Sometimes – ok, often – grace appears to me in a conversation with a friend.

It happened again a few months ago, when a friend told me of her daily disciplines – nine specific intentions she uses to frame and shape her day.

The wonder of the conversation is that, as she walked me through each one, I recognized each discipline as part of her fingerprint upon my life. I have been the happy recipient of her faithful habits, of her intentional cultivation of grace within herself.

So, I thought I might try them on, myself.

Knowing how many times I’ve made resolutions and knowing how few of them I’ve kept, I decided to practice my way in, keeping one until it becomes familiar, before I add another. The first of her nine is to start each day with the expectation that something good will happen – and then to actively look for it.

So, this morning started off right, hands in the dirt of the garden, and looking up to see a fresh stalk of asparagus, pushing up to greet the sun. It tasted really sweet.

[photo is my own]