'Graceful' timing.

There are moments in life when we are fortunate enough to be a part of something wonderful, something awesome, maybe even life-changing. And then there are moments that start out relatively insignificant and turn into something grand. The God moments. The times when I think to myself that the only explanation for what just occurred is that He is trying to get my attention. I have changed my thinking in recent years to all but eliminate my belief in coincidences. No longer do I find myself saying "wow, that was great timing." Rather, I have picked up a phrase that my husband used recently; Steve said one day that what I thought was "great" timing was really "graceful" timing. Quite apropos.

Yesterday afternoon when the sun began peeking through the clouds and the ice started dripping off the eaves, I felt I would be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful afternoon outdoors. I wasn't really in the mood, but I grabbed my camera and headed out for a quick walk anyway, knowing the fresh air would do me some good.

This was my reward.

A bald eagle soared over my head. Now, I've seen eagles before, and I've even gotten relatively good pictures of them, considering my only camera is a $40 garage sale find that I couldn't take a clear picture with to save my life. But this eagle flew closer to me than any one before - close enough that at one point I got a little nervous that the fur around my hood looked a little too much like a small fox. There I stood, squinting up into the sun, tears streaming down my cheeks (from the biting wind, I swear), and trying to both enjoy the moment and capture it through my camera lens. The eagle circled above me about four times, each time moving a little farther from north to south. I stood, awestruck, and watched until it was out of sight. This is the best of the photos I got, but it can't possibly show you the beauty I saw in that moment. I was truly blessed.

Graceful timing? I like to think so.