those nights (by luke)

tonight is one of THOSE nights.....one that I wish would freeze in time so that I can soak in every ounce of each moment....every chirp of the birds singing, every gust of wind againt my face, every ray of sunlight that streaks beautifully across the sky. it is one of THOSE nights that helps me have that revelation once again. the recognition that this IS life. this is REAL living. this is is the precious gift my Creator has given to me......of feeling and emotion, of being moved inside by beautiful things, of having the capacity to experience fully the gift of life.

everything suddenly has more meaning, and my one and only wish is that I'll be able to remember absolutely everything.... down to the tiniest detail....because without these memories, the moments that I hold preciously close to my heart.....the real experiences of life...could be lost forever.

nights like these are few and far between for me, and I've only experienced a handful to memory......a warm, muggy night in Loreto, Italy as I stood in a hotel parking lot gazing across the countryside at a brilliantly lit cathedral across town.....a late summer night admiring one of our Creator's masterpieces, the Milky Way, in Quetico Provincial Park as I lay by a campfire stretched across a slab of cold granite, arms behind my head and staring into the cosmos in awe......the night before my wedding, when I looked into my wife-to-be's eyes and knew that I was the luckiest man in the world......

these are the nights where life is so real to me, and on this night as I reflect on the incredible priviledge I've been granted of soon beoming a parent, my heart is filled with immense humility and joy. this is life and living at its greatest, and I am forever grateful and blessed.