Laying Awake At Night

I was a young boy reading a book on the floor of our living room. A few feet away a fire was blazing inside our old coal stove. Its warmth filled the room. Still, my Dad looked chilled and weak as he sat in his chair under a blanket. Times were tough financially so a few weeks earlier he had taken a higher paying job in an underground coal mine. He had started work with high hopes of bringing in more money for his family. He had also started the job, however, with a case of the flu. Working in the cold, damp mine had quickly turned it into pneumonia and he had been forced to quit and go back to his old job as a mechanic.

My Mom walked into the room and told me to put up the book because it was time for bed. I saw the worried look on her face when she looked at my Dad. For days he had come home coughing because he couldn’t afford to miss any more work. Putting in full days working on cars while fighting the infection had left him pale and thin.

I walked into my bedroom next to the living room while my Mom gave Dad some soup and straightened his blanket. For a long time I lay awake scared while I listened to the voices drifting in from the living room. I wondered if my Dad would ever be well again. Then I heard something I hadn’t heard in a while: laughter. Its sweet sound floated on the air. First my Mom’s, then my Grandma’s, and finally my Dad’s happy laughter filled my ears. I noticed too that for the first time in weeks my Dad wasn’t coughing. At that moment I felt safe, happy, and loved. I knew that my family was going to be alright and that we were rich in everything that mattered. I said "Thank You" to God for making my Daddy well and then fell blissfully asleep, wrapped in the love that binds us all together.

It is that love which is the real wealth of this world. May your life always be rich in it.

~ Joseph J. Mazzella ~

You can get Joseph Mazzella's book, "WALKING THE PATH OF LOVE," at www.amazon.com

[ by: Joseph J. Mazzella Copyright © 2011 (joecool@wirefire.com) -- {used with permission} ]