there but for the grace of God...

There but for the grace of God, go I.

I'm sure I first heard this phrase from my mom. I had never liked it much...with it's yoda-like grammar structure. Plus, being young, it just didn't make much sense to me. The young are invincible and untouched by tragedy, for the most part.

But now, the phrase is often silently whispered in my thoughts.

And once the other day in Maymont.

We ended up getting separated here. The two older kids had gone to the bathroom with dad, and I got sidetracked taking cute pictures of Diego. When we came back up to the bathrooms, they were all gone, so Diego and I headed on to the waterfall, where I figured they'd be.


We cut through a bamboo path and came out close to the waterfall. People were drenching themselves under it, so we sat down to watch. We dipped our feet in the cool brook that was flowing by us, and I kept a tight squeeze on Diego's arm so he wouldn't go plunging down below. And we waited. The others weren't there. After fifteen minutes, I figured they must have gone on to the japanese garden, so we packed up and headed over there.

And we found them crossing the stepping stones. Joaquin was going full speed yelling, "Watch me!" And Juan Pablo was unusually quiet. Isabela was holding his hand.

Before I had a chance to fuss about being left behind at the bathrooms, JP says, "It was a good thing you weren't with us."


It turns out, Isabela had slipped off a very high rock. And here's the God part. Juan Pablo was below and reacted fast enough that he caught her. To hear Joaquin tell it, Isabela said, "Hey this looks like fun," then slips and starts screaming and waving her arms around. And it is quiet funny to see him do it.

But really it's not funny at all.

It could have been much worse. But the only injuries were a banged up ankle, a bleeding pinkie toe, and Juan Pablo scraped up his arm and pulled some shoulder muscles.

There but for the grace of God, go I.

So does this mean, if something worse had happened, God's grace does not exist?


I don't think so.


Afterall, it's just a saying.


But it gives us pause to think. And be thankful.


The fall didn't stop us from climbing high....


...or hoping to.


But we're glad there are others to help us down.


We finally made it up to the Dooley mansion, and this day we decided to take the tour. Only, two minutes after it began, Diego started squirming and whining, so before we could get kicked out, I excused myself with him. The guide said, "Come back when you're older!" Oh yeah, and see those black grates on the house like a dungeon? Joaquin pulled one of them off.


So Diego and I hung out waiting for the others. We made a new plant that reminded me of Horton's clover from Horton Hears a Who...and acted silly.


And even though I kept a close eye on this little runner, at one point, he stood on the edge of a rock wall gazing down at a tumbling waterfall. Although I was too many feet away to be comfortable, he stayed put.

There but for the grace of God, go I.