For no understandable reason other than by chance, the insignificant ‘thing’ caught my eye. I had simply glanced down. It had no scent. It made no sound. It could not see, hear, taste, feel or touch. Still, it seemed to cry out pick me up.

If giving up is not the answer, then perhaps it is to live this one and only life as never before. Choosing life is to accept all of life. With acceptance comes the release of one's imperfect self-reflected in the Creator’s image to the crucified and risen one.

Somehow, Jesus finds the strength to utter three last words in his final exhale— “It is finished.”

In the Greek, it is one word: tetélestai.

From coast to coast and across the waters, every continent awakens and retires to the same news: Pandemic cases dwindling here, surging there, vaccination and mask mandates, violence, and unprecedented weather events.

From your hospital bed, you reflect on the child you once were. When you had trouble falling asleep because of everything on your mind, you lay stretched out on your back under the covers.

What shall we call such invisible states marking life’s transitional moments: dreamy to conscious, awake to asleep, Word to flesh, water to wine?