2014-12-24
Dear Mary:
One reason to cherish this eve of your miracle is the opportunity to contemplate your example and meanings outside of our physical selves and our apparent personal priorities. It is too easy to forget the joy in your calm, the accomplishment in your dedication, and the salvation in even the simplest charity. No surprise, then, that we feel surprised by the year's too many personal losses, lamenting unanswered prayers or untaken choices or unspoken appreciations.
Indeed, as vital as your miracle is to each person, it is your strength in what followed that might be most important as a guide when we feel like an orphan, overwhelmed by all that there is and is no longer.
"If they touched you in life, they deserve to have their hand held in death..." means more than being present in that moment of ultimate departure, whispering reassurances of "There, there...". It means the sharing of experiences and difficulties, of smiles and frowns, of giggles and sorrows in that moment, in the (preferably many) years before that moment, and in the forever after that moment.
The immortal aspirations of our heart and mind and soul become conscious when we aid in the immortality of others, through our love for them and our thoughts about them and our prayers around them. Alone we may be... except for the love and memories and verses we carry for others, strengthened when the love and memories and verses we have are also borne by others.
The joy you brought to the world this evening was more than a personal manifestation of Faith. It is also the understanding that Heaven on Earth can occur through our individual grace, our infinite patience, our humble kindness to the less fortunate, and -- especially -- a mutual sharing of love and thoughts and prayers with another soul.
Sincerely Yours,
Vernon R.J. Schmid
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Your comments, suggestions, questions, or concerns would be very much appreciated. Please direct them to: vschmid@telus.net.
Created: 2014-12-24.