Hilda lived in the 7th century and sought a life of simplicity that honored the grace that came her way in life. She met seriously and joyfully those times and experiences that salved her soul and that touched her heart. Hilda was not pollyanna in her approach, nor did she live a charmed life. Rather, Hilda made that astounding choice to attach her energies and attentions to those moments when God provided her gifts of community, acceptance, love, forgiveness, and beauty.

What is more, Hilda moved people in unmistakably special ways. It wasn’t her exhortations, her lectures, her pearls of wisdom–it was her own walking in grace. People were drawn to her. Butler beautifully describes Hilda’s life as “conducting souls to God”–being a conduit, an invitation, an opportunity, grace personified for others.

And, lo and behold, Church officials (read: men) actually invited Hilda to be the founding abbess of what Butler calls “a great double monastery”–one for males, the other for females. Yes, Hilda was charged with conducting men as well as women. And during Hilda’s tenure, people’s lives truly flourished!

Certainly, it is not possible to control what events and circumstances come our way. And, now, learning about Hilda makes me wonder if it might not be just possible to choose which events and what circumstances we attach our energies and attentions to–and that there might be more grace around about us than we even realize.