by Sarah Earlene Shere, Hosanna Heralds, ©2022
(Dec. 16, 2022) — [Read previous installments of this story here.]
Joy
Smiling at the golden-haired girl making her cat wave from her upstairs window, Phineas returned the gesture. The child looked a little healthier and happier this day. Phineas snapped the glass of the lamp shut and chuckled as his ladder swayed in the wake of some overly zealous children. He didn’t blame them. He remembered the days of his boyhood, the energy that wouldn’t allow him to sit still just ten days before Christmas. He suddenly became pensive when he recalled the same spark that coursed through his little Cordelia at this time last year.
The sounds of laughter and carols being sung joined with the chimes of Big Ben to echo across London. Phineas paused for a moment beside the river Thames to drink in the atmosphere. Suddenly, he heard a friendly voice behind him, “And Heaven and nature sings!” Turning around, he recognized the stout man who had retrieved his candle for him just the week before. The man, again, was wearing that unique, fur-trimmed coat, only, this time, a female counterpart to himself was tenderly holding onto his right arm.
The jolly looking man continued, “Fills your heart with an inexpressible longing for that great day when Heaven and earth will truly be one, does it not?”
The silver-haired lady agreed. “Till then, it is these moments that give us a glimpse into that eternal joy!”
As the couple slowly continued their walk along the river, the woman left Phineas with a meaningful gaze as she whispered, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”