by Gwendolyn M Plano
Yesterday an angel took flight. I knew Kathryn C. Treat only through her writing, but I wept at my loss. She was a new friend, a fellow writer in the Rave Reviews Book Club, a person who had walked the back roads of life. She had struggled for years with severe allergies and had helped me understand my own, but it was a hemorrhagic stroke that finally set her free.
It seems many weep this Christmas: those of us who have lost friends or family, those of us with notable health challenges, those of us who struggle to make ends meet. The brightly lit trees, the gifts mounting high, the frantic last-minute-shopping, the Christmas carols in our churches and stores—all have opened our hearts and heightened our vulnerability. And, in the midst of it all, we remember the baby born in a stable so many years ago.
It can seem like God has walked away when our hearts break. But then, we notice—the cardinals in the trees, the sunset over the lake, a child’s delight in the playground; and, we are reminded that we are not alone. When held captive by beauty, we need to pause and listen carefully—for the angels dance in our reveries. They may have taken flight, but their journey has brought them closer--to you and me.
It seems many weep this Christmas: those of us who have lost friends or family, those of us with notable health challenges, those of us who struggle to make ends meet. The brightly lit trees, the gifts mounting high, the frantic last-minute-shopping, the Christmas carols in our churches and stores—all have opened our hearts and heightened our vulnerability. And, in the midst of it all, we remember the baby born in a stable so many years ago.
It can seem like God has walked away when our hearts break. But then, we notice—the cardinals in the trees, the sunset over the lake, a child’s delight in the playground; and, we are reminded that we are not alone. When held captive by beauty, we need to pause and listen carefully—for the angels dance in our reveries. They may have taken flight, but their journey has brought them closer--to you and me.
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