Mom’s Cardinals
I remember it was the first winter in our new home. My Nana’s old house had burned down one terrible night the summer before. Thankfully, we’d all escaped the fire with our lives but we’d lost everything we owned. The only things that my Dad was able to find were Mom’s wedding rings. The plastic case she put them in at night had melted around them. I think the things Mom really missed, though, were all the pictures she had of her family and childhood. Each one held a memory special to her and now they were all gone.
Our new home was nice but still used a wood stove for heating. I was outside getting firewood to take into the house. I could see Mom stepping out in the cold air on the front porch. She was putting some special seeds down in an old fashioned bird feeder. Then she stepped back inside and watched out the window. Soon two cardinals flew in, landed on the feeder and started to eat. As I carried the wood into the house I could see my Mom smiling through the window. She seemed so happy and even wiped a little tear from the corner of her eye. I remembered her saying once that cardinals were her Mom’s favorite birds and every time she saw them she could feel her Mother’s love. It made me happy to know that even though she had lost all those pictures and the memories they held, she still could feel her Mom watching over her with love from Heaven every time she saw a cardinal.
These days I feel the same way each time I see a butterfly flutter by. Each one reminds me of my Mom. Each one fills me with love. Each one connects me with Heaven. I only hope this winter to see a few cardinals as well. When I do I will think of Mom and Grandma together in Heaven. I will thank God for the daily reminders that we are watched over and loved. And I will send my love on a prayer to Mom and Grandma in Paradise.