Jolene at Play

From the Christmas carol, As with Gladness, Men of Old:

Holy Jesus, every day keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past, bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide, where no clouds Thy glory hide.

The words sparked an image of Jolene at play. In my prayer journal, I wrote:

At play in the field of the Lord—dancing, tumbling, on the trapeze learning from Vicki. She is in the presence of the Light, no longer any veil in between.

Vickie Baker, my writing companion from the beginning, was a self-styled “quadriplegic trapeze artist.” (She broke her neck while attempting a 2½ somersault.) A big hunk of my writing heart died when Vickie went home to be with the Lord in 2003. For months afterward, I felt like I had lost my biggest fan and best mentor.

For the first time it occurred to me that Vickie was there to greet Jolene when she died. Someone who watched Jolene grow up, encouraged her writing gift and loved her, welcomed her at the gates of heaven.

And now they are both free to do what was impossible on earth—fly on the trapeze, in and to God’s glory.

I miss you both, but I’m glad you have each other.