Fall holidays and I worked magically when I was a child. For one season of the year my sweet tooth was fully satisfied and then some. From Halloween, to Thanksgiving, and on into Christmas, every day was an anticipation of what was in hand or was soon to come.
I have not thought about my memories of the fall into winter season for a long time. As I walked out into the crisp air this morning, I was transported into my memories as a seven and eight-year-old boy. The lessons then are reminders I find myself holding tight today.
Care, kindness, and love can appear without notice or warning. Aunt Joe’s cornbread, Mom’s upside-down pineapple cake, several legendary apple crumples are just the beginning. At any time, a moment appears in one’s life with a smile, laugh, and infusion of hope. Experience reminds me in times of deep darkness, each is waiting for my awareness to let light be present. In a miraculous way, when things are especially difficult, a magical moment shows up without notice, permission, or invitation. A gift which is always present is your life and mine.
One may think they earned her/his magical treats, we did as we walked through the neighborhood, yet on reflection, each was always a gift from another. Love is gifted. Care is expressed. Kindness realized. Occasionally, I have taken an action which resulted in an expression of love. Even as I revel in the response, I know within my heart that there are reasons I did not deserve the response. In treating it as a magical gift, I find myself reveling in the awe and wonder of it all.
By the time I got to Christmas, I was always sure the holiday treats were going to spill into the cold winds of January and February. I have come to appreciate each moment of magic as if it was my last. This way the next is even greater! “Praise, oh let them praise the name of God – he spoke the word, and there they were!” (Psalm 148.5).
