Grace Falls
by Kaitlyn Ramos
GRACE FALLS
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” Isaiah 43:2 ESV
I must be nearing my goal. I feel as if I’ve been climbing this hill for a thousand years. The tree roots under me make for difficult movements. My feet ache. My calves are screaming for relief, but I am desperate. Desperate to encounter the falls. These falls are hidden in this hill—far from the rushing roads and busy neighborhoods below; hidden by the forest, wild and untouched. I keep going, willing my legs to continue each step.
Soon now, I think.
I hear the rush of water. My pace quickens in apprehension. There it is: a cascading veil descending from the rocks above. I am finally close enough for the mist to rest on my skin and form small crystal droplets on my arms. The scent of the forest mingles with the vapor reaching me, and I inhale nature’s perfume.
As I gaze in wonder at the stream dancing and splashing down from the rocks, I see the persistence of the water. Water flows and twists in response to the world it encounters. Whether it strikes rock or tree or animal, the water continues its path—it simply diverts from the original course.
I am like the water. I have encountered obstacles. Since I was a child, I have been different. My mind is a variegated mix of concepts, ideas, and emotions that don’t always resonate with others. And so many have desired for me to conform, told me I couldn’t be…me. But, like the water, I cut a divergent path. My peculiarities have led me to the falls, and I cascade with grace.
Under the falls, the ripples splash against my face. My skin drinks in a liquid silver shower, as the hushed roar of water sounds in my mind—a harmony all its own. The water washes me clean, inside and out. I am caught inside the world of the waterfall. These falls were once a subdued river flowing from the hills. Time passed, the water flowed, and that water whittled out a new path. A journey that forever changed that ribbon of water, this hill, and the forest for all time. The weathered rock broke and toppled, and the Artist of the universe formed a new masterpiece.
I am like the rock. The masterful Artist who forms from dust also lovingly formed me. I have been weathered by the buffering of expectations, the weight of responsibility. But, with the resilience of the rock, I continue to be formed by time. Those same peculiarities that caused doubt also created in me a quiet power that, when compressed, forms a stone of light. I persist. I endure. And as time passes, I become another magnificent opus of the Artist.
I emerge from the gleaming falls—baptized anew. Under my feet are the opaque gems of the riverbed. The water sparkles in the midafternoon sun. Nearby, a frog, in a mossy hue, splashes into his private lagoon. Mourning doves call softly in the breeze. Nature plays a symphony with notes only I comprehend. The river cuts its path through the forest and cascades in glittering torrents that it carved from the boulders. But now…it rests. The river slowly floats through the trees, providing refuge for minnows and a myriad of water creatures—giving needed refreshment to the fragile fawns and frisky foxes—but always gliding effortlessly along.
Today, I am also like the river. The forest gives me repose. The Artist has covered me with His essence, and I am radiant and pristine. I can rest in His warm embrace. I survey the life all around me. I smell the honeysuckle and graze the warm grass at the river’s edge with my fingertips. I have peace, like a river, in my soul. The falls have renewed the Spirit within, and I am ready now.
With one final breath, I take in the rippling liquid stairs—and I depart. The walk down is less taxing than the battle I fought to make it to the falls, both for my muscles and for my heart. I am ready to be resilient again. I am ready to persevere. Because I have strength like the waterfall, resilience like the rock, and peace like the river in my soul.
KAITLYN RAMOS
Kaitlyn Ramos works as an instructional coach for a virtual school, follows her husband wherever the army sends them, homeschools her daughter, and writes between lesson plans, laundry, and long walks with her dog. She is the author of A Dream Fulfilled Life: A Memoir in Essays, available on Amazon, and her work has appeared in Agape Review, Spirit Fire Review, and Grit & Grace Life.