And Then There Were Two...

       Just when we think we have seen it all, and there couldn't be anything to beat it, the extraordinary one-ups us!  It has been said that we cannot trump God's mercy and generosity.  I believe it. 
      Tonight after work, Danny and I were in the living room and dusk was falling.  I looked out our front window, having just asked Danny if he had seen the beautiful hoarfrost this morning.  It had been draped all over everything as if fairies had been at work decorating the landscape.  As I gazed at the snowy white expanse of lake, I saw a mammoth freighter sitting far out, looking like a beached whale, surrounded by the icy waters of Lake Erie, waiting patiently for its turn at the coal dock.  (Tonight it is lighted up like a distant ocean liner.)  As my eyes continued to scan the lake, I looked up into the sky.
      "Danny, Look!  Another bald eagle tonight, circling overhead!"  It swooped in a wide arch, banking it giant wings, and finally it glided down to settle on the ice.  I grabbed my binoculars to take a closer look when, all of a sudden, I  shrieked "Oh, Danny.  Here comes another one!"  And it was true, first just one, then there were two!  They had found food, a fallen cormorant it looked as though to me.  Together, that pair dined, the blanket of icy snow their tablecloth, the frozen lake and beach their table.  They remained there, carefully eating their found prey, for about thirty minutes.
      What an unexpected pleasure to see such wildlife up close.  It seems to be that way with so much that we experience.  When we begin to realize our blessings, thrill at even the most simple of them, and thank God with grateful hearts, we notice them to be often doubled or tripled in number or in intensity, like the fishes and loaves that multiplied before their very eyes when Jesus blessed them for the 5,000.  It reminds me to try not to take anything for granted, to live each moment fully, to give thanks.
       Like today:  I love the black, white, grey and pastels of January.  I love slant of the 4:30 sun as it already begins its descent, the long shadows it casts on the snow, interspersed with yellow and golden light.  The snow begins to have a blue look to it in the evening, and the cardinals that appear at the feeder look even deeper crimson as they sort through seeds.
      So now this day is done, and bed must come, but it is nice to know that those magnificent birds, the eagles, are not too far away, snuggled down in their huge nest, with full bellies for this night.  I hope that you are, too, snuggled down, well-fed, and at peace.
     May God Be With Your Spirit,
               Through the Cottage Door.