The Hallmark store in town has these wonderful quote cards that you can buy and frame in a quote card frame. I looked through lots of quotes, but finally decided on my favorite from days past:

Dance as though no one is watching you, Love as though you have never been hurt before, Sing as though no one can hear you, Live as though heaven is on earth. – Souza

I love to dance with wanton abandon, much to the embarrassment of my husband. I still love my cousin even though he was rude to me the other day. I don’t sing as much as I used to, but I can really belt out Christmas carols around the piano.

As far as living as though heaven is on earth, well, I just read a book given to me by a friend of the author. It’s titled Hezekiah Homes written by Bamah Joan Landon. Ms. Landon’s daughter survived a horrific car accident which left her in a coma for weeks. The remarkable story is not just about the trials of a long (20 year) recovery, but about the angels who appeared to help her and her mother. Yes, appeared.

Hezekiah Homes was an African-American who showed up in the hospital whenever his help was most needed. He prayed over Joan’s daughter and always comforted the author with words ideally suited to her unspoken worries. She couldn’t figure out how he knew what she was thinking. Hezekiah, along with a kind, informative nurse, was Joan’s lifeline of hope.

Come to find out, when Joan and her daughter were ready to leave the hospital and say goodbye to Hezekiah and the helpful nurse, no one at the hospital had ever seen or knew of them.

I wonder how many angels we entertain? My niece once saw an old woman on a bus stop bench who just disappeared. I saw a young man standing next to my daughter who came suddenly and disappeared. Once my family saw a Civil War soldier walking along the side of a country road. As the car we were in passed him, we looked back and he was gone. My grandfather saw a strange guest come to his sister’s wedding. The guest entered the house through a door that used to be the main entrance back in the old days. Grandfather never saw the guest at the wedding, but he identified him as a long-dead relative in an old family picture album days later.

Is heaven on earth? I like to think we are surrounded by loving beings. I really like to think that my daughter is part of that heavenly host. I know she is around making wonderful things happen. It’s nice to know she is one of many, ready to step in when help is needed.

I wish I could thank my nice angels with a Hallmark card. It would say: Thanks for living as though heaven were on earth.