Second Windsong

Beauty Today my thoughts are with my friend who is waiting by the bedside of a loved one. Waiting patiently for heaven's gate to open and to bring peace long awaited. I can think of little else that describes such radiant beauty. There is beauty in presence. There is beauty in the ability to face the ugly and the painful. There is beauty in the ability to sit in the dark, even when we know it is going to get darker before the light breaks through. There is beauty in the shape of hands, even when they lay silent and still. Beauty in the memory of cheeks stroked by long fingers, dishes washed, rhythm kept and praise given as hands clap together or raise heavenward. There is beauty in counting breaths together. There is beauty in memories that flood minds and hearts and the stories passed for generations to retell. There is beauty in being broken and splayed so that only God can fill the gaps that remain. There is beauty when pain makes it possible to identify the e...