A Moment of Grace

A stunning visitor appears out my window.

Oh… yes. This is just one of my stunning visitors to my front landscape just outside my window. This cardinal feels like a, "sacred fire" set against winter’s stillness. His visit brings warmth and comfort to my heart. A messenger sent from a loved one in heaven. A symbol of encouragement, hope, steadiness, and dignity. A thread woven into our family's memory of how love continues.

He is framed by the dark green branches of the evergreen as if being held. His presence is quiet, intimate, and not empty. His visit is deeply felt. Contained. Witnessed. Gorgeous. Grace incarnate. His colorful plumage is all puffed up, whilst be totally grounded, completely at ease in the winter's bath. He isn’t fighting the cold like so many, he’s inhabiting it. He wants to be seen as he calmly sits at my window. Not loud, but companionable.

There’s something about this image that mirrors my life right now:

• Presence

• Stillness

• Life thriving in the cold

  
  

It’s a sacred moment captured in my heart and in a photograph. A blessing that love doesn't disappear it just changes form.