I hold

I've been blessed with the opportunity to nanny for a lovely family, traveling the month with them through London, Paris, and Rome.  

We are currently wrapping up our visit in London.

There are many enjoyable things about London, but I found the best truth wrapped up in a simple outing to Southwark Cathedral yesterday morning.  After we recited a midday prayer with other visitors, I scooped up little Abby into my arms.  There is one thing you need to know about Abby: it is so hard to look at her without wanting to cuddle her.  She knows it, too, and will often play her cards right.  On this particular morning, she simply had to be held.
The two of us strolled through the corridors surrounding the sanctuary, talking about the "sleeping stone men" on the tombs of martyrs, and how stain glass can tell us stories.  She asked me if people visit there on Sundays like we do at home, and I told her I thought they might.  Then she asked princesses have come there before.  I said yes, because she was a princess.  She gave me a grin for the books, moved my ponytail, and kissed my shoulder.  She pulled me close and whispered, "Thank you, God, for Erin."  Her head rested in my neck as we continued our walk, thanking God for people we love.  

It was my favourite moment in London.

It made me remember how small I really was.  It reminded me of how we are called towards something bigger than ourselves...that we walk earnestly alongside every other person in this life, seeking that call.  
And I didn't learn it by comparing a wristwatch to Big Ben, or by the way our offered voices traveled high in that cathedral.  Rather, it was learned through the sweetest prayer whispered in my ear; the smallest of arms around my neck.