Three beautiful things.

A friend said to me, "Now that you've moved back home, you never update your blog anymore! It's like we don't even matter over here in Singapore!" While I know she knows they matter, she's right. Life here seems normal....mundane...ordinary...yet wonderful. In Singapore, every adventure was new. People back home didn't know or always understand our overseas life, so I used the blog as a way to connect everyone here to us over there. I felt like I was keeping us all connected. Now that we are back, I never thought about the connection feeling lost when they now don't know much about us.

And that makes me sad.

Sad, because the friendships we formed over there were fast and furious and so.damn.important. They kept us sane, made us smile, lifted us up, hugged us when we missed home, and listened when we needed to talk. They learned about life in Portland and our family & friends here. They opened their arms when they didn't have to. Life is tough when you plop yourself down half-way around the world. But because of them, it was made so much easier.

I found myself sitting in the middle of a funeral service last weekend. Death is always hard. Along with the grief for a person's life cut all too short, I have found that death also becomes a time for reflection of your own life, how you've lived it, the people you care about, your hopes for the future, and your beliefs. It's a time when you vow to tell people you love them more often, show people how much you care, worry less about things and more about experiences. It's a time when you hug your people a little tighter and you shed tears for the family who lost their person; as you grieve in your own private way.

Through tear-filled eyes at the service, I continued my reflection. As we stood to say a prayer, I paused for a moment to look around me. In front of me was a woman who lost her husband and son within a few year's time. Next to her was her daughter, who lost her brother and father. To the right of them was a woman who had lost her hair due to her battle with breast cancer. Further to the right was a husband and wife who had to bury their child ten months ago. And finally, all the way up front, stood a wife-mom-partner who was saying goodbye to the love of her life. And as she was saying goodbye, she was holding tight to her son and daughter who just lost their father. Holding tight to her people.

It's hard to make sense of life in that moment.

But it was easy to see three things. Three very REAL and heartwarming things.

Strength, Grace and Love.

For the people I looked at, my heart carried so much sadness. But there they were. Standing together, sharing tears, holding hands and carrying on. They exemplified Strength and Grace and showed me, in that brief moment, how much Love means to life. What an honor it was, for me, to be in the presence of such beautiful things. Such beautiful people.

In my life, I am blessed to be surrounded every day by beautiful people. People who show me Strength, Grace and Love without even realizing it. People who encourage me to show Grace even when I can't seem to dig deep enough to find it. People who show me Love even when I may not feel like I deserve it. And people who show me Strength by showing up when it's so.damn.hard.

The people there matter. The people here matter. And the people I have brief encounters with matter. When you add them all up? They help me live a life with Strength, Grace and Love.

And I couldn't be more thankful for it.