1 year ago...

I stood watching from a short distance as he approached her casket. With eyes brimming with tears he looked down on her lovingly. He grasped her hands in his and sighed. Though they were now cold and wooden he bent his head down and kissed those hands tenderly. As he rose from the kiss, a lifetime worth of emotion and memories seemed to wash over him like a tsunami and for a moment, swallowed his countenance in grief. He looked up to her reposed face, beautifully framed by her pure white hair. There was such a look of calm there. She was at peace. The faint smile on his lips showed me that he knew it and I could tell that made him feel happy in spite of his sorrow. With the backs of his fingers he softly stroked her cheek and with a whisper that was barely audible said, “I love you, Mom.” Two large tears fell from his cheeks. They seemed to suspend in the air for a moment, catching the light that made them sparkle like diamonds in their descent. Warm tears of love splashed on her cold still hands - the contrast was sadly beautiful.

Such a simple event, such simple words, such a short instance, yet seldom in my life has the Spirit touched me with such power.

In a world where we so often focus on the finite boundaries that define our existence, it was a refreshing blessing to witness and feel of the infinite love shared between a son and his mother. In the split instant it took for me to witness those two tears fall, I had reaffirmed to me that love is the crucial element to our existence. Love secured a path for us all to follow. Love redeemed us from failure and sorrow. And love has made it possible for a son to someday, once again, shed his warm tears onto his mother’s warm hands.

In Loving Memory... Myrle Wood Stratford.

We Love You Dad.

Dan and Dee