I've tried so hard to find the right words today.
And as I sit here all I can hear is a woman named Cory, singing "Silent Night," on Christmas Eve. All I can see is a darkened church lit with the soft glow of a hundred or so candles. I can look through the windows and see the night sky and the snow covered ground and I can feel that chill that never seems to leave in winter. Cory sings with that pitch perfect tone, full and rich, yet light, so light, so gentle.
And there, I think, at the front of the church is her husband, George. He's the pastor. He will move in a minute but for a second his head is bowed. I can see it still. I didn't know it then, but I know it now. I know what he felt and if I were there today I would weep for it. For it is in these moments that God is so very near.
Such is the power of memory.
Those were my Christmas Eve for a few years until I moved to Florida.
Yesterday George lost a devastatingly quick battle with cancer.
Others knew him better. My dad knew him well.
But for me, I have Christmas Eves and George's smile.
And as I sit here all I can hear is a woman named Cory, singing "Silent Night," on Christmas Eve. All I can see is a darkened church lit with the soft glow of a hundred or so candles. I can look through the windows and see the night sky and the snow covered ground and I can feel that chill that never seems to leave in winter. Cory sings with that pitch perfect tone, full and rich, yet light, so light, so gentle.
And there, I think, at the front of the church is her husband, George. He's the pastor. He will move in a minute but for a second his head is bowed. I can see it still. I didn't know it then, but I know it now. I know what he felt and if I were there today I would weep for it. For it is in these moments that God is so very near.
Such is the power of memory.
Those were my Christmas Eve for a few years until I moved to Florida.
Yesterday George lost a devastatingly quick battle with cancer.
Others knew him better. My dad knew him well.
But for me, I have Christmas Eves and George's smile.
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