Easter Night

It is getting late and I am so weary.The children and grands have left after a day of Frisbee playing,egg hunting, a huge pasta meal, and a son's reading aloud the story of the Easter gift from my German friend of her precious cross.Everyone was quiet and attentive as he read and my daughter had no words, just tears.Then the left-overs were distributed and the children headed to Auburn,Atlanta,and the Georgia mountains.It was a good family Easter and a blessing .

But there were other gifts from the Hand of God that I might not have recognized a few years ago.I transcribe them here so I won't forget.Perhaps you had your own.I would love to hear about it.

The first person to wish me a Happy Easter was walking in the neighborhood before we left for Mass;a young stranger, working out. But then his gift,"Happy Easter", with a smile.

Next to me at Mass was someone I had never seen before.I introduced myself and it seems that she and her husband were heading to Florida and found our Church on-line.She raved about the windows,the trees,the waterfall behind the altar and the friendly community.As she was leaving, she said that she loved being with us and would stop again.An unexpected,loving new friend.

With her pale yellow dress,curly brown hair and angelic smile, my godson's daughter's picture lit up Facebook today.A picture taken on the way home from Church, which pleases me no end.I am incapable of seeing her face without smiling.This is a girl of strength and character.She is three.

My sweet red headed eight year old grandson came up to me during the day and said that,"this was good Easter,Nana."Perhaps because he found the most eggs and dollar bills.Who knows but I'm glad it was a success for him.He took great interest in the old cross.

I shared some inspiring e-mail thoughts with two old friends and had a surprise visitor stop and comment on my blog.Her picture shows a beautiful young woman from England who celebrated her Easter joy with me.How neat is that ? She lives in Hertfordshire and my English ancestors came from there in 1638.Wow.

In my dotage, I have taken to collecting money that I find while walking.I have two hundred and fifty, run over and damaged,pennies.For some childlike reason, it gives me pleasure to drop them in my small jar.I was reminded today of something Annie Dillard wrote :

"There are many things to see,unwrapped gifts and free surprises.The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside by a generous hand.But-and this is the point-who gets excited by a mere penny ?......But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity,so that finding a penny will literally make your day,then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies,you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days.It is that simple.What you see is what you get."

So what pennies came your way today?