The parson drove up the road, returning home from a a short trip to a nearby town. At a four-way stop, along a rural road, he glanced over to the rural, white-framed, church diagonally across the intersection to his left. The parson stared intently. He realized Sam Rogers car was parked under an oak tree on the far side of the church, The parson knew immediately what was happening.
Slowly the parson pulled his car into the driveway of the church and into the shade of the tree that sheltered the other car. He exited the car and walked toward the cemetery that bordered the church. Rounding a corner he saw Sam sitting on a granite bench amid flowering shrubs. The parson quietly walked up and sat down beside Sam.
In a few moments both noticed a pair of cardinals hopping about on the grass. Every so often one or the other would fly off with an insect in its beak. Other times the insect would be eaten on the spot.
The parson looked up. A red tailed hawk soared above, a dark shadow against the white drifting clouds and Carolina blue sky.
Many minutes later a rabbit hopped out of the brush and began to nibble on a plant the parson could not identify from where he sat.
A semi-truck broke the melodic silence as it pulled away from the four-way stop. It’s reverberations diminishing steadily with distance.
A dog, too well groomed to be a stray, walked past the church heading on the side of the road, head turned toward the two strangers sharing a bench in the cemetery.
Sam picked up a small dead pine branch that had fallen from the tree whose branches were overhead. With careful deliberation he broke off a small portion and tossed it toward the masonry bird bath five yards to their left. The movement of his arm caught the rabbit’s attention and he quickly hopped back into the undergrowth.
A while after the sticks had all be tossed Sam got up from the bench and walked a few paces into the cemetery to stand before a headstone. He bowed his head. A moment later he knelt beside the stone. A moment later he rose and walked toward the parson.
“Thanks for taking the time, Parson,” he said. “I really miss her. I really miss her.”
Together the two walked back to their respective cars. Sam went North at the four-way. The parson continued his journey East.
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The ministry of just being present is such a powerful thing. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Wayne | July 15, 2009 at 06:50 AM