In the Fire-Light

In the fire-light is clarity. There is the quiet crackle of burning wood as the escaping gasses cast orange to purple flames across the canvas of my defragmenting mind. Add the presence of my children sharing cheese crackers with their Daddy, and my bride joining the fun, and all is right in the world if even for an hour.

There are so many things to remember from that hour, and I chase the details within my mind because I know that I am destined to forget the most of them. But the smell, the sense of peace and fulfillment, the look of my children as they bring competing gifts of crackers to me, the quiet of not worrying about anything and being at rest... these I am determined to remember.

My little girl asked me why God gave us fire tonight... I think, for me, those are a few of the reasons.

And those are my thoughts tonight after the fire-light.

Pax Christi,

John