A Winter Blessing in A Line

Last night, I looked out from my window seat, and a saw a wonderful thing. It was a  perfect winter night. Well, it was as perfect as a winter night could be. The sky was crisp and deep and dark  and clear. The air had that sharp refreshing winter nip. It was a special night and even the world around me agreed. I dressed myself in my very best and set out with my darling husband for a banquet. My college put on a dinner for the student body , and it was lovely...but that's not what I saw.

Let me tell you what I saw. At first, when I arrived I saw what you'd expect: people dressed up, festive decorations, and lots and lots of food. At first, I did what you'd expect: sit, talk, eat, and occasionally make eyes at my date. Then, I did something else. I stopped. I looked, and this time I put on different eyes. The hum of the crowd quieted as if I were watching from the other side of a window. Time slowed for moment as if God was stopping it to show me something. For a moment, just a moment, the only narration was not the hubbub of the gathering but  my own thoughts like a voice in my mind. I looked out, and in a moment I saw memory in the making. It was a winter blessing.

Across the room I caught a glimpse: a friend laughing with exuberance that almost made me cry. Her dark eyes sparkled, and I knew why. The young man beside her, dressed up as a Scotsman (kilt and all), was beaming at her too. Across from them, was someone else I know. She too couldn't contain her happiness. Looking at her, I could see it bubbling up from somewhere and coming out in the sparkles of her eyes. They were twinkling so bright they almost stole the sparkle from the shiny rhinestones on the bodice of her gauzy purple ballgown. Next to her, another young man, smiling because he always does, but happier now it seemed. Beside me, a handsome man, my very own. His eyes were beaming too, and I knew why. He had eyes for me. However much my mind may wander, however flighty I could be, his eyes said, his heart and eyes just never would wander away from me. Everywhere there were people just like that. Happy people, smiling people, and people lost in love. I felt surrounded by exuberance, and for a moment my spirit soaked it up like a sponge.My spirit was filled so full that a bit of it escaped from the corner of my eye.

 Then, before I knew what happened, the moment disappeared. The hubbub of the crowd came back, and time itself returned, but before the moment left me, it burned  itself to my memory. It left its traces of exuberance and twinges of excitement, and just like the best moments do, it left a phrase, a lesson, a winter blessing  in a line.

 Seize each day you're given as though it was your last, and bless the Lord from whence it came.