Friday, December 28, 2012

Christmas Daily Dose - Feast of the Holy Innocents

+In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Daily Readings

Reflection by Becky Arendt, a parishioner



My grandpa use to keep a small blackboard (double-sided) hanging on his wall in the basement.  We would write short notes to each other - he would write on one side and I would answer on the other.    I think I was around 11 years old when we began doing this.  I remember feeling safe enough to tell him things that I normally wouldn't say out loud... maybe that was his plan.  There was a lot of advice and a lot of "I love you's".  This man was my biggest cheerleader and hero and when he died, I thought my heart would never mend.   But those years we spent writing notes to each other will always remain a blessing.

I still have that blackboard and the last note he wrote to me is still on it.  It's a poem by Edwin Markham and it reads,  "He drew a circle that shut me out.  Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.  But love and I had wit to win, we drew a circle that took him in."  It was great advice to a 13 year old girl who felt like she didn't fit in.  He would always tell me, " If they shut you out, you just got to draw your circle bigger!". That quote has come up quite a bit though the years and has been passed along as advice to family and friends who needed it along the way.  So I thought I would share it with you.  If you're not feelin the love today, draw your circle bigger.

+In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

No comments:

Post a Comment