The Moments in Between: Beautiful Horizons

I've been gone the past week, traveling around the Southwest with my Grandma. Yes, my Grandma who is 75 years, can hike and bike and gets around all over the world. She is a widow; my grandpa died 26 years ago, so I really don't remember much about him. When she travels, she goes in these tour groups, which is a whole new world for me. It is mostly seniors, women in fact, who have lost their husbands as well. They all travel around safely, hoping to explore different parts of the world together.
We saw so many beautiful sights during our week together; rocks that change color in the sunlight (who knew rocks could be so pretty!); skies so blue I could dive into them; stars to bright I could catch them! As we drove through the North rim of the Grand Canyon, the rocky terrain suddenly gave way to trees, golden aspens in fact, that literally sparkled in the breeze. But I think the part I enjoyed the most were the long drives through the wide open spaces. It gave my Grandma and I time to talk, remember, and reflect. She, being a widow, has always been a part of who she is. I never really gave it much thought. In my eyes, she was always my joyful, confident, independent Grandmother who takes hold of every experience and every opportunity to live. But all of a sudden, now that I am married, I really considered the long 26 years she's lived alone, without a life partner. I think if anyone had to make the most her life, she certainly has, traveling, spending time with her five children and thirteen grandchildren, taking classes, going to lectures, meeting friends for breakfast...But still, in the back of her heart, it must have always ached.
One morning, as we were driving through the rusty red cliffs, I asked my Grandma how she ever made it through the last 26 years of her life. She told me that she really had no choice. She said in tough situations, God comes through and He gives you the grace you need: enough peace for each day; enough joy for the moment. "No one is guaranteed a life without loss, without heartache, without twists and turns. But, it's how you pick up the pieces and carry on that makes all the difference in the world." My Grandma says on the that cold night 26 years ago when she buried my Grandpa, she sat alone in a quiet house. At that moment, she had to decide how she was going to live the rest of her life.
I then realized that we all face some kind of loss in life. It is not necessarily the physical loss of a person, but perhaps the loss of a dream or a loss of joy. Each day we wake up and we have to decide how we are going to live the rest of our life. Each day we must decide if we are to linger in the loss, or trudge ahead to the future. One more day...one more day...
"You just take one day at a time. You decide how you are going to live in THIS moment of THIS day," she explained. "All of a sudden you wake up and look in the mirror and wonder who that old lady is staring back at you!"
My Grandma took my hand and we both looked out across the horizon before us.
"There is so much beauty in the world, but sometimes people are unable to see it."
The horizon ahead seemed so far away, just like this moment probably seemed so far away at one time. But it will come, one way or another... and it will be beautiful.