moments

Sometimes there are times in my life when time seems to slow down, and that moment I am experiencing becomes clear, while everything else around me fades away.  In that moment, it is just me, God, my thoughts and feelings, as a vision of what I am supposed to be seeing is laid before me.  I don't have many of these, but the ones I do have, I hold special and sacred.

Some of these moments I share, some I don't.

I was able to have a "moment" this weekend at my sister Kelsey's wedding reception.

My parents backyard was all lit up with lights, the sky was fading to dusk and the stars were beinning to appear, there was magic in the air, sweet music was playing, the decorations were elegant, timeless and beautiful and it almost felt as if we were in an enchanted forest surround by serenity and beauty.

As I was taking this all in, and enjoying the surroundings, my eyes landed on Mary...and all of the sudden time froze, everything else faded away, and I just watched my little girl.

She was dressed in a beautiful cream and white dress with lace on the bottom.  She had an adorable flower wreath on her head, with her long blonde curled hair flowing down from it.  She was holding a flower ball with sparkles and ribbon cascading down from it, and she was twirling and jumping on the trampoline.

She was alone, and had a perfectly happy smile on her face as she twirled, jumped, flipped her dress and danced around on the trampoline.  She had placed green crab apples on the trampoline around her and she was bouncing around in them.


To me, it was all in slow motion.  Every jump, every twirl, every smile she made, seemed to be in slow motion, and so preciously timed. My daughter looked like an absolute angel, in completely peace and happiness, living a little girl dream, twirling and dancing in her own world.

It was something straight out of a dream.  The feelings I felt in my heart for this precious girl of mine were indescribable and I felt blessed beyond my wildest dreams.  I felt that somehow, I had seen this moment before, even before Mary was even born, and I had yearned for this little girl and to see this moment, and to know she was mine.

I wanted to freeze her like this forever, freeze this image in my heart and memory and never let it go, and keep Mary in her peaceful happy magical world, safe from everything she will have to face in this life.  I was too lost in the moment to take time to find a camera to grasp the moment, but deep down I knew that no picture would ever do this moment justice.  It went beyond what the human eye was seeing.

It was a very precious moment, and a gift.  I will never forget it.

I love you Mary girl.