It’s funny how people come in and out of your life. How some people are there for longer seasons and others for just a short while. Some people haven’t ever left. And some have never really came.

Whenever I travel it astounds me how many people there are in the world. Every driver that passes me on the highway. Every passenger on a crowded metro. Every waiter, waitress, cashier, shopkeeper, officer, musician, artist, chef, mother, father, student, child. Each one has their own life. Their own piece of reality. Their own struggles. Their own triumphs. Their own families. Their own friends. Their own moments of joy. Their own moments of sadness. Their own loneliness. Their own thoughts.

It’s humbling to think about. To think about how big the world is that it contains so many other lives. How small my problems and my own piece of reality are compared to it all…

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Grace. Free unmerited favor. Poured out lavishly. And bringing with it unthinkable peace.

God has certainly lifted my heart and my hands these past few weeks. He’s made me stop in my tracks. He’s brought me to moments of grief and struggle. Yet, he has also gifted me with moments of joy and rest.

My not-so-little little brother, Matthew, was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer called Ewings Sarcoma. As with most cancer diagnoses, it was a completely unexpected blow.

He was rushed in for an emergency back surgery. A tumor, which doctors were confident wasn’t cancerous, was pressing on his spinal cord and could’ve resulted in paralysis. My first day of teaching this month was the day of his surgery. I got the message that he was out of surgery as I was leaving school, and let me tell you the drive home…