Tabby, I woke up yesterday sadly aware of the significance of the day.  Though it has been a year since we were deprived of the joy and comfort of your presence the pain and emptiness are still sharp and vivid.

As I worked to get Emily up and off to school I found myself having random memories of our times with you.  I remembered when you would come over to play with Em and be intently focused on some game when you would suddenly stop, turn the TV on and sprawl on the floor.  It was time for Sponge Bob and Sponge Bob ruled.  Even when you watched an episode I knew you had seen more than once before, you laughed heartedly at every joke, even as you mouthed the dialogue and punch line.  You were greatly amused when I feigned exasperation at having another Sponge Bob rerun playing on the tube.  Okay, perhaps my exasperation wasn't really feigned, but I let you do it because you were so delightfully amused by the insanity that was Sponge Bob.  I know just about every souvenir Emily brought back to you from family trips had a connection to Sponge Bob and you loved getting them.  I remember you running around in your Sponge Bob t-shirt Emily brought you back frfom Nassau.

Another moment that popped into my memory was of a time when I had you, Emily and Helena in a restaurant for lunch.  You took one bite of your sandwich, put it down and said, "I'm done." One bite.  Then, when I removed the pickles from my own burger you asked if you could have them.  I said okay and you scarfed them down.  The waitress saw you gobbling down the pickles and asked if you would like a few to nibble on.  You said you would and she brought you a small plate piled with sliced dill pickles, probably half a jar's worth.  You beamed with happiness and started in.  I never saw anyone, before or since, get so much enjoyment from munching down a plate of dill pickles.  Now, everytime I forget to order "without pickles" and have to take them off a sandwich, I find myself longing for you to be there to eat them.

Tabby, we all miss you deeply, as I'm sure do those unknown to us who were also blessed to know you.  There is an emptiness in our lives that will never be filled but, perhaps, might be softened by the memories of you that pop up every now and then when something as innocuous as a Sponge Bob cartoon or an unwanted dill pickle pass through.  Remember you are loved by many who would have done anything to keep you in their lives had they but known they were about to lose you.

I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this  year

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below,

With tiny lights like Heaven’s stars, reflecting on the snow.

The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away that tear,

For I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear,

But, the sounds of music can’t compare with Christmas choir up here.

I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring.

For it is beyond description, to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss m, I see the  pain inside your heart.

Rejoice, for I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I can’t tell you of the splendor, or the peace her in this place. Can you just imagine Christmas with our savior face to face?

I’ll ask him to light our spirit as I tell him of your love,

Then pray for one another as you lift you eyes above.

Tabitha

Tabitha’s wings made fluttering sounds as she moved silently among the wheat stalks of a field near Bethlehem. To be truthful, these little trips were authorized, but the gentle angel had grown accustomed to the brief layovers on her way to do God’s work, and since she was sure He would have made his displeasure known to herby now, she went about her personal mission as often as time would allow.

On this particular morning, Tabitha judged the stalks with the precision of an agricultural expert and her selections were meticulous. When she finished collecting a fair measure of stalks, even the field’s owner would have no idea that a kind angel has visited his crops and gathered just enough wheat to fill her arms.

As quietly as she had arrived, Tabitha slipped back into the sky and headed east. It wasn’t difficult to spot her destination from on high; the sad little house was covered by a roof that was so damaged, sleeping residents most likely has as good a view of the night sky as those resting outside! Tabitha often wished she could find a way to fix the gaping hole but her current mission was all she could do for now.

Gently stepping down to place her bounty on the home’s threshold, Tabitha turned to find the little girl sitting, as always, against the mud-covered wall.

“Shh….” The angel whispered, finger to her lips above a smile so wide the child couldn’t help but grin too. “Thank you,” the little girl’s lips responded. The angel nodded. Having completed her “extra job”, she leaned down, kissing the child’s forehead so gently, the girl’s eyes closed and sleep came instantly.

Opening her eyes to the warm winter sun, the child found exactly what she had discovered upon awakening on so many other mornings; a pile of wheat- easily enough to feed her family for several days- neatly stacked at the home’s entryway. “Tomorrow, I will stay awake long enough to see who has been leaving this gift,” the little girl promised aloud as she scooped it up and went inside with the bounty.