Melting Hearts

Count your blessings instead of sheep. – Irving Berlin

Melting Hearts

It was time to catch our breath.  Every member of my family had finally been able to come together for the first time in a year.  Now, all comfortable, settled into a pillow-filled couch, we began to let the airports, crowds, cars and highways drip away. Urgency was safely where it belonged, in the past.  So, it seemed appropriate for my daughter Jessi to look around the room and ask if we could resurrect another past by watching the 1954 movie, White Christmas.

Much to my surprise, White Christmas is a movie not one of my children had ever seen.  So, we were all soon absorbed. It melted our hearts so they could meld with the past.  And, while the time depicted is no longer, its messages are timeless principles to be cherished.

First, true treasure is found in friendship and family. When an old army friend finds himself in financial trouble, in the movie, because seasonal snows failed to arrive in Vermont, his former colleagues give of their time, money and hearts to gather around him to show their love and admiration.  They also turned the fortunes of his country inn in the process.

Second, we all have difficulties as the seasons of our lives change.  We often think of the challenges of youth, while sometimes failing to observe such youth melt slowly away from our mentors as the years slowly begin to display their wear.  Such instances provide all of us with, in many cases, a once in a life time opportunity to offer a lasting expression of gratitude for guidance and mentorship graciously given.

Finally, gratitude can be a vehicle to achieve personal peace and satisfaction.  This is expressed magnificently through the Academy Award nominated song, “Count Your Blessings,” performed by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney in the movie.  Perhaps its message is something that could become assimilated into our hearts today.

“When I'm worried and I can't sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
So if you're worried and you can't sleep
Count your blessings instead of sheep
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings”

It was time to catch our breath.  Every member of my family had finally been able to come together for the first time in a year.  Now, all comfortable, settled into a pillow-filled couch, we began to let the airports, crowds, cars and highways drip away. Urgency was safely where it belonged, in the past.  So, it seemed appropriate for us let our hearts melt together by remembering the past, recognizing our true treasure, discerning the change of life’s seasons, and counting our blessings.