hear the angels sing

One of my jobs out here on the ranch is to go check on the main house after a party or gathering. There was a big Sunday School party at the ranch house this evening, so after the party at my house and getting packed to fly out tomorrow, I had to go out into the cold, dark night to check on the big house. It's a good thing, too -- someone left a candle burning and that could've been bad. There was a lot of trash to haul down the hill, too, which is never fun, especially if you are wearing party-appropriate shoes.

But then when I was halfway down the hill, I looked up at the sky and saw the clear, bright stars and started remembering, and it was like time stopped for a moment. I've always loved to look at the stars and think, and this year there have been so many places to do that - in the wide Texas skies last spring, at our old summer camp in the mountains with my sister in May, in a garden the Congo in August, and smack in the middle of East Capitol Street (Southeast, Northeast! Southeast, Northeast!) a few weeks ago with a really good friend.

And last July during the CLC camp, I stood on that same hill and looked at those same stars. There's been so much on my mind lately. This time of year especially, I think it's easy to get caught up in all the things we don't have and to forget about the things we do have. With the rotten year I've had with the dissertation nightmare and the D.A.'s nonsense, I've definitely been guilty on that count. And I have so much - a wonderful family, great friends, beautiful music, tickets to the big game, and the chance to go have an incredible adventure on the other side of the world and see a whole other set of stars. There's so much grace.

"O rest beside the weary road, / And hear the angels sing." Edmund Sears