Flowers and Candles

By Christine Mason

As we in America prepare for Thanksgiving this year, it is for many of us a time of mixed blessings. We are thankful for so much, yet we are living in a world filled with fear and violence. A world where the unspeakable happens all too frequently. With news at our fingertips we have ever present reminders of the plight of so many ‘“ bombings, hunger, pain, sadness.

After the most recent horrific attacks in Paris, one of the most touching moments was an interview with a father and son.  The young son was obviously concerned and had seen too much for his tender age. ‘But we have flowers . . . and candles to protect us.’ The father and son thinking aloud and as the young boy glanced at his father, one could sense his feeling of safety, the security of his father’s arms, and the peace that came to him in this moment.

So this Thanksgiving let’s give thanks, thanks for so many things, and among those things, thanks for the wisdom of a young child, the relationship with his Dad . . . and for the power and strength of two symbols that say so much about our spirit, our resolve, our courage and our ability to persevere . . . flowers and candles. . . to protect us.