My Cardinals are gone…. Ok, so they are not mine to hold or keep in a cage. I would never even want to do that to something so amazingly wild. I claim them as mine this pair of Cardinals that appear in my life, at the most astonishing times. Probably they are not even the same pair. How astounding would it be if a pair of bright red birds followed me from Baton Rouge to Foley and now camp out at the beach this remote beach? That would be remarkable, indeed. They show up, My Cardinals, when I am speaking to HIM, about the troubles of my day or burdens I have taken again from the LORD. To me they have been a tangible symbol of his presence, a gift that only HE could give. They were a gift that would show up at the most unexpected, yet the most appropriate times. These beautiful living signs of HIS presence, and purposeful interruption in this life HE gave me. They are gone with the seasons and my heart is a little sad, but this life is so much more enriched by the experience. I know HE will continue to show up in other ways, I am on the look out, anxiously waiting and listening.
After writing this we recieved a Christmas gift in the mail for work, attached to the package was a Christmas Card with the most beautiful pair of Cardinals on it. Maybe HE is not done with them yet.

"...just as any bird serves as a sign for any idea. Noah's dove, Macbeth's rooks, Horace's swans, Omar Khayyam's pigeons, Theocritus's nightingale, Count Fosco's canaries--they are no longer birds but usages of birds...I wonder if there ever was a moment whan a cardinal outside my window sat there in blazing splendour signifying nothing." - Alberto Manguel