Yesterday I went out into the cold & rain to a craft show at St. Mary Magdalene
Byzantine Church. It was a nice show, but poorly attended, probably because of
the weather.    
      The church part
was open so people could go in, which I had hoped for before I went. I love seeing
churches and had never been in a Byzantine one before that I could recall. I
really liked it; the icons, the stained glass, soft lighting, the atmosphere. 
       As I was looking at the stained glass
windows along each side of the sanctuary, I was startled to see that one of them was
dedicated to the memory of someone I used to know. I knew he had died, but
didn't know about the window. His family was one on my paper route in school and I became friends with his mom. I watched him grow up. He had gotten
married & moved to Indiana. Soon afterwards, he died in a motorcycle accident.
This was his window.   
     They had the candles one
could light, something that is increasingly rare to find. So I  lit one for a friend's comatose friend. It was tall candle & has burned for hours, a symbol of hope.   
     There was a mystical
peacefulness in that place, something that I wanted to bring away with me. I got
so much more than a t-shirt at the craft show.