Heart-rending

There was recently a terrible ski tragedy that claimed the lives of two men well-liked in our town, a 46 year old pilot highly involved in minor hockey and a popular 17 year old still in high school. The town was rocked and shock was universal. The family of the older man has attended my church for as long as I can remember; our kids are in Sunday school together and so on. I knew the Sunday service immediately following their deaths would be somber.

But I didn't expect to be moved to tears by silence. For occupying every single seat in the front row were the members of a couple of the families who were closest to the suffering family. They were not reading, singing, speaking or doing anything else in the service; but every single one of them was there in mute testimony of their shared grief with their friends. It was one of the most moving things I have seen in a long time.

Gold-tipped tree

The sky was marine blue and grey, heavy with precipitation, outside my window. It was getting ready to make us hunker inside and wish for better days. Then, to the east, I saw some breaks letting streaks of sun through. As it was morning, the sun was coming at an angle and as I watched, it hit a deciduous tree behind our neighbour's house. The tree lit up gold, accented by the heavy grey-blue behind it: it was as if it had been struck by something magic. A breathtaking moment.