Embracing

It's been quiet here in the blog-world, as I've been taking care of a friend's dad. 

An 87-year-old Navajo man with bone cancer...with such a cool life story.  Also this week, my mother called to tell me my grandma had a small heart attack and that one of my dad's best friends from high school is dying of cancer.
It's been a reflective, slow, needing-to-mourn kinda week.

But I thought you might enjoy this photo - it's an artichoke flower!   

It's been reminding me to embrace the little things in life, alongside the painful.  

Also helping to flesh this out is a book that a friend gave me called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  Some parts aren't exactly me (and yes, if you look it, Sue and I agree the cover looks uber cheesy), but it's been highlighting many things God has been trying to teach me that the book adds some concreteness to.  Good summer read!