There was a knock at the door at an early 8 AM. Liam and I wondered, "Who is this cloaked man, all in black, standing outside our window? Could it be Brother Lawrence?!" And indeed it was!
We opened the door with huge, surprised grins on our faces and welcomed him in. I'm sure that Liam recognized him immediately.
Brother looked around our messy living room and marveled at the blessings of our family life. He immensely loved seeing Liam watch the Holy Baby DVDs. He snuggled into Macy, just like old times. And we walked across the street to daily mass, just like we always used to.
So much had changed, and yet...so much was still exactly the same.
He prepared to leave then, shortly after mass, but not before showing me the AWESOME graphite drawing he made of Our Lord in the image of Divine Mercy.
I was so impressed! What a beautiful, new talent Brother Lawrence had discovered within him! As he loaded his things into his car to leave, Brother took great care to strap Jesus into His seat belt.
As Brother Lawrence's car pulled away, I waved as I realized the metaphor that I was beholding: Jesus is this man's co-pilot, and--at the same time--each is one another's chauffeur in life, for Jesus leads us and we follow, and Brother's life paves the way for Christ to come into our lives all the more.
Thank you, Brother Lawrence, for your witness and your life!
