My saints

Today, November 1st, is All Saints Day.  I did a little research and found information about who celebrates it and how it is celebrated. It is a day to remember the saints....those known and unknown...and those who have passed on.

I like the fact that there is a day to remember some of the people who have left my life.....this life.  It's necessary to me to have a day ....that I can circle on the calendar and pause in the busyness of life to intentionally remember the lives of those who I loved...who I continue to love.

I look at their faces and I think of who they were, of how they lived their lives...of their personalities, their stories....their struggles and successes.  It's important to me that there be a day to remind me to spend a moment giving thanks for their lives.  But the truth is....they are never truly gone from me for long.  I pause, maybe only momentarily to remember them in a thousand things...in a song or a story or a joke.  I often think of them at a specific time of year or when I come across a tangible reminder that I have saved.  Sometimes I remember them as I look at a family member who brings them to mind.  I think of them when a look, a smile, a laugh, or gesture brings them to mind.  Or perhaps...it is when I am alone that the thought of them just floods over me.....unbeckoned....and I feel an overwhelming sense of their presence......and I wonder....

I often question if, during the course of their lives, they ever wondered if they would be remembered.  I believe that if you love and share that love....you will always be remembered and always live in the hearts of those who hold you dear.  And so today....I remember the saints in my life.  I give thanks for them and all the days we had together, all the meals and laughs shared....and I give thanks that I was fortunate enough to be chosen to share some of their very precious time on earth. So on this day.......and so many others, I give thanks for my saints.

“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” 

~ Thomas Campbell