The Gift of Magic

My doggy audience (Dawn the fifteen year old wonder dog) as I sing the first stanza of the carol running through my head...

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Kathy King

The Gift of Magic 

“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”

Laura Ingles Wilder

How do you recapture magic?

How do you hold it in the palm of your hand?

Can you have a moment to feel like a child again?

To wonder, to dream, to imagine if you dare. 

To have a wellspring of hope that lights the way.

Could those feelings again?

Could they burn like a flame?

A torch, a flame that lights the way.

That torch that can illumine even the darkest place.

To sing, to dance, to recapture your inner child. 

Recapture that magic. 

Make it a part of you.

Today I could not get a Christmas Carol out of my head. It plays over and over. It strains whispers in my ears like a beautiful waltz. Yesterday I wrote about the first week of Advent. The Candle of hope is lit in anticipation of the Messiah coming. To be hopeless would be truly terrible, would it not? We as humans need hope to keep us going. We need hope to carry on. What about magic? Is that not a form of hope? I don’t want to offend my magician friends but does “real” magic exist? Probably not. But, could you find a place where you felt as if things might be magic? When I contemplate magic I think of my children when they were waiting for Christmas morning. What would they get? Their excitement was palpable. I do remember the excitement I had as a child as Christmas morning was approaching. There was a quickening in my spirit to know that I would get to eat sweeties and play until my heart’s content. I also remember the hope that is conveyed in the Christmas Carols. The certain carol that keeps playing in my head is called: “Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella.” The carol itself was not originally a carol at all. It was a dance written for French nobility. It wasn’t until later that it was made into a Christmas carol in the Provence region of France. To this day the villagers dress as shepherds and milk maids. They carry torches and candles while singing the song on the way to mass. I think that sounds wonderful. The words are so simple yet beautiful. Bring a torch, Jeannette, Isabella. Bring a torch to the stable call. Christ is born, tell the folk of the village. The carol talks about bringing cakes arranged on the platter. They watch the child sleeping. They sing for joy. Simple yet beautiful. What sweet simple thing in life can you think of that gives you a little magic or hope? When I read the quote above I really thought of the little things, the small acts that truly do inspire hope. The “What happens in between” things. My husband calls it “doing ordinary things in extraordinary places.” When he says this I immediately think of hope, comfort, magic.  When the world wide bug came knocking on our door a lot changed in humanity. You can’t deny that people have changed a lot. For many years I served as a church pianist. When the bug came to fruition my role changed within a week. One week I was playing hymns and singing songs. The next. Nothing. Music is like a hug from the Lord. You need it to keep going. The service was an early traditional service. So the demographic was usually older and retired. Their lives were not only impacted by not going to church but also from doing just about everything. I saw this as well with the seniors at the senior living facility that I was going to a few times a week to functionally train them. That was their social outlet. They were all at once alone and unable to be with anyone. So much hope was lost. It was almost a year before I was allowed to return to see them. The change in their spirits was palpable. It was as if the light that was shining in their sweet faces went from beaming to almost completely dim. I do believe that this time stole a lot of magic. For my husband and I, we fell out of the habit of attending church each week. Sure, we watched it online but that is not the same. For the old folks, slowly but surely they found their magic again of getting to see people, to fellowship, to feel the magic that is good humanity. For my husband and myself, we found the fellowship of gathering together as a community that is church. Where can you bring your torch? Where can you sing? What in your life feels like magic? I encourage you to find it. Dress up in your Christmas gown, carry your candle and sing! After all, “Enjoy the little things in life.. For one day you will look back and realize they were the big things.” Kurt Vonnegut

My books are on Amazon!

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

The Case of the Missing Moo-Cow Bell

The Case of the Missing Bumbly Wumbly Bee

The Case of the Missing Wellies

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Ornaments

Clean it Up! Wash it Up!

Coming soon!

Appalachian Allegory: A Southern Novel

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