Most Beautiful Of All

I decided to take my sons for a walk the other day. Autumn was in the air. Rich, delightful reds painted by God’s own hand were coloring some of the trees. Heavenly yellows shining brightly in the afternoon sunshine were coloring others. On the ground a carpet of dry leaves had begun to form along the path. They smelled wonderful and crunched under our feet as we walked along. A light breeze swirled newly falling ones around and around until they too gently floated to the ground. High in the sky we noticed a V-shaped flock of birds heading south for the Winter. As we walked along I smiled. Beauty was all around us. It felt so good to be out in nature. I felt blessed to be watching God’s glorious creation at its best.

As we turned a corner along the walking trail. I noticed a woman slowly making her way toward us. She was an elderly lady with an unkempt mass of gray hair. She wore old jeans and work boots. Her sweater was threadbare in spots and had obviously seen better days. She was carrying a trash bag in one hand and a pointed stick with a nail driven through it in the other. As she slowly made her way toward us she stopped to jab a piece of trash she saw on the ground with her stick. Then quickly and neatly she placed it in the trash bag. When we met she smiled and said: "Hello" to us. Her teeth were cracked and worn, but her voice was as youthful and angelic as I had heard in many a day. We talked for a bit and I thanked her for making our nature walk more beautiful with her work. She smiled again and said: " I just do what I can" before continuing down the path. Of all the things I saw that day, she was the most beautiful.

May we all live as lovely a life as her. May God help us all to grow more and more loving so that our last days here are our best days here. May God help us all to be a beautiful blessing to this world today, tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives.

~ 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} ]