God, Give Me Strength

When I went to church today, there was a young couple that sat in front of me. Upon reflection, I don’t recall seeing wedding rings, but then again, there was no inspection of any kind on my part. I assume they were married. They had two young children with them. The father cradled a peaceful, quiet baby girl and the mother held a rambunctious, antsy boy, slightly older than his sister.

I was drawn by their interactions and I caught myself staring at them for a good majority of mass. The little girl wrapped her tiny arms around her father’s neck and she let her round, glossy eyes swallow me whole. The boy fussed a lot while in his mother’s arms. He insisted that in addition to himself, she should also carry three of his toy trucks. To the little boy, it seemed very necessary. To anyone else (including myself), this was actually quite ridiculous because of the mother’s very petite stature. Yet, there she was balancing her toddler and his play things all the while singing every Responsorial without missing a beat. Even then, I wondered why the mother carried the larger child and the father held the tiny girl, but it was probably a call made by their children.

None of their actions were out of the ordinary, but at this very moment, this family was the most intriguing concept I had ever come to witness. They glowed. They weren’t perfect, by any means, but in some weird way too complex for words, they were beautiful.

At this point, I felt my throat swelling and tears burning my eyes. It was then I realized, I wanted this to be us.

@1 month ago with 2 notes