01.11.2023 | Sunny Wednesday

"When Cardinals appear, angels are near."  I've heard that phrase since I was little guy.  Somehow, I still believe it's true.  It helps to be from Saint Louis where Cardinals are sacred anyway, but somehow, whenever I see a Cardinal appear in the backyard birdfeeder, I just feel like there is a thin place happening.

I believe in thin places.  Those moments or places where the gulf between heaven and earth are so thin you can almost cross over.  It's been a time of memories this past week.  I've been just a bit under the weather, nothing terrible just a nasty cold.  It's something I've not dealt with for a while and I was, probably, feeling a bit sorry for myself.  Memories of those we've lost kept coming into my mind.  The good stories.  The funny stories.  Now I see a beautiful Cardinal in our backyard and the thin place makes sense.  I feel better today.  Mentally and physically, I'm a bit restored.  I believe in thin places.

The sun is shining, and the weather is almost balmy for mid-January in Carondelet.  I'm hoping you get a bit of a thin place as well today.  Here's a bit faith, hope and love sent your way from an old gardener in South Saint Louis, because "when Cardinals appear, angels are near!"  Amen!