Grace

It's been just over three weeks since our lives were changed forever. Jasper Elliott Prince was born on Sept. 29, and it was then that time seemed to stop. We had a few setbacks that slowed our recovery a little, and when we came home from the hospital we were all in a fog.

That's when grace showed up at our doorstep.

In Elizabeth Gilbert's much-praised book "Eat Pray Love," she talks about grace, about how it percolates differently in each of us. If I had more time or patience, I'd search through the book and find the passage, but if I had more time and patience I might just use the time to do some laundry, clean something around the house, take the dog for a walk or just take a nap.

Gilbert mentions that her sister sees her as graceful, and she does so in a way that denotes she herself is missing the quality. But Gilbert says her sister does graceful things she'd never done. Specifically, she says that her sister is the type who takes a casserole to a friend or neighbor who's just had a baby.

That is grace.

And we were blessed to have so many graceful friends. In the days following our return home, we had a different set of friends showing up each night to bring us food. This is something my group of girlfriends has done regularly (well, as regularly as people have babies), but I've always been on the giving end, not the receiving. Until now.

I was overwhelmed at the generosity. A friend who pulled together a fabulous meal on extremely short notice the day we left the hospital. Another who made delicious, 18-hour homemade bread to go with her pasta figioli. One who made us one of his mother's best cake recipes and then confessed that he'd never baked a cake before. The soups, the casseroles, the lasagnas were delicious. We got spoiled, having almond bars, pecan bars and brownies after every meal as well.

We felt lucky enough to make it home after this incredible journey with a happy, healthy baby boy. But then again, I guess the blessings of our friends aren't luck. We seek them out, nourish our relationships and provide for them when they need, too. What we are is thankful to be part of an amazing group of people.

We are thankful that grace showed up at our door.