As the new year unfolds, you’ll see lists everywhere as people clamor to announce the most significant political moments of 2010, the snazziest movies and the folks who made the biggest waves in front-page news.
As for me, when I look back I don’t think in terms of grandiose headline-making events, but rather the little moments that gave me a sense of God’s presence. And here they are, in ascending order:
10. Spotting my first hummingbird in midsummer at the feeder attached to my study window, and marveling at the antics of these teeny tiny guys for the next three months.
9. Watching a ruby-red ball of fire sink slowly below the horizon while sipping champagne with my husband on a deck overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, the night before Christmas Eve.
8. Receiving an orchid plant as a gift and being certain it wouldn’t last long, and then being astonished by its continued existence and its persistence in bearing bounteous blooms.
7. Enjoying sword fights -- with wooden weapons made by my husband -- at the playground with our nephew, Noah, plus his mom and a herd of kids from the neighborhood.
6. Sitting in the day chapel at St. Thomas More Church in total silence, watching the dancing flames of the vigil candles and realizing that stillness and serenity truly do draw us nearer to God.
5. Baking cookies and playing board games with my goddaughter, Sarah, and remembering the days when I was 12.
4. Being asked by my best friend to be her sponsor at her confirmation this coming March -- because now I can officially dole out unasked-for spiritual advice to her, something I do anyway.
3. Receiving a letter from a child we support in India, and having the little fellow tell me -- the lady he calls “Mum” -- that he prays for us every day.
2. Holding in my hands for the very first time my latest mystery, “Death of a Liturgist,” and inhaling the delicious scent of something no e-book can ever duplicate, namely the paper and cover of a brand new book.
1. And my top moment of the year is right now, as I sit in my study listening to the cuckoo clock chirping while a squirrel stares at me from a nearby oak tree and clouds sail by in an ocean-blue sky, and realizing that if I can maintain awareness of God’s creation and his love, then every moment will be special.
Happy New Year, dear readers!
Lorraine Murray’s latest book is “Death of a Liturgist,” a wild and wacky mystery set at a fictional church in Decatur. She also is the author of “The Abbess of Andalusia: Flannery O’Connor’s Spiritual Journey” and five other books. Her e-mail address is lorrainevmurray@yahoo.com.
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