A Bright-faced Boy. A Majestic Stag.

In the span of a week, two encounters of the heart: one in a doctor’s office, the other in an open space park.

A bright-faced boy.

A Majestic Stag.

The curly head of hair sailed past me on the floor across the tile, his artificial limb extended in front of him like a baseball player sliding into second base. The boy immediately popped up on his one good leg, lifted his below-the-knee prosthesis behind him, and speedily hopped across the medical office to the candy bowl on the counter.

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The thick-branched crown of antlers streaked past me into the sky above the tall grass, the legs bounding beneath it like springs sprung into space. In the distance, the deer leapt to the road and collided with an oncoming vehicle, the crush of sheet metal and bone thundering on impact and the animal struggling 3-legged to the base of a nearby hill (passengers unhurt).

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The pain of what can happen in this world weighs heavy on the heart.

A bright-faced boy no more than four years old. A majestic stag in the prime of its deer life.

I think about the little boy with a lump of hard candy in his cheek stepping across the floor onto his prosthetic lower leg and finding the hand of his mother while his three waiting siblings fidgeted. His eyes flashed nothing but joy in my direction.

I think about that well-racked buck, the mighty shield of its chest parting the tall grass, its sculpted legs springing high in the air as its body flashed nothing but invincibility before tragedy.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the boy will grow into the fullness of a fine man, as noble as the stag in its glorious splendor. The miracles of faith and prosthetic technology will bless his journey. In some strange way, the deer symbolizes a great sacrificial hope to me.

And in this season of Advent, when Christian believers await the celebration of the birth of the Savior, of light promised in the darkness, I know that I do not fully understand the mysteries of divinity. But I welcome the star of light, the divine Babe in the manger to guide me along.

Thanks for stopping by. ♥