It’s May Day. The sun rises and spring’s arrival brings light. Some of our legs have carried us over some long hard winters.

The ground we’ve walked has bruised our soles and etched our souls. Like years that callous our feet, these miles have put deep cracks in our hearts. Like cracked pots that leak water, we leak life and grace.

And hope abounds.

Today I think of my beautiful stepmother, Kimi. I think back on cold nights warmed by her grace while baking Christmas cookies, and spring evenings watching her tend her garden from which she collected flowers to deliver to everyone special on May Day. She wasn’t immune to hardship, but she kept walking and those deep grace filled cracks leaked over us grace, hope, love and watered our souls.

A few years ago as I’m driving on route to the San Francisco International airport I receive a…