Tonight's view from the porch is a clear, starlit night. After dinner, I decided to take a walk. It wasn't too cold tonight, but I did walk briskly. It isn't often that it is not bitterly cold or too icy to walk around in the evening and enjoy the lights. Homes were glowing with Christmas lights inside and out. My walk takes me to the edge of town and I think Mother Nature's twinkling stars were as beautiful as any display I passed. It was quiet and I was ready for quiet after a very productive day of housework and holiday-work.
The week did not end the way I expected and some alone time for reflection was in order.
Since August, I've been helping to coordinate an evening meal for friends whose baby girl was in the NICU in Iowa City. She passed away earlier this week and I was honored to attend services for her yesterday. There's just no easy way through that. The pastor was amazing and said so many beautiful things when I wondered what one could say that would make any sense at all. I have never cried so deeply for someone I had never met.
One of the things that the pastor said was that this tiny little girl changed all our lives. And that is true. I will never again take for granted the power of a hot homemade meal delivered home in time for dinner. And it really wasn't just about sharing dinner, it was about giving a family a gift of time. Even in my own family's schedule, there are nights when its a challenge at the end of the day to come up with a meal. For our friends, bringing dinner a few nights a week gave them time to be together rather than grocery shopping and cooking.
I hugged my kids a little tighter last night, held them a little closer.
And I prayed for peace, and comfort, and healing.
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