"This day God gives me strength of high heaven,
Sun and moon shining, flame in my hearth,
Flashing of lightning, wind in its swiftness,
 Depths of the ocean, firmness of earth."
~James Quinn, S.J. ascribed to St. Patrick

I had it in my head that today was a good day to take the light rail train to work. It has turned cold again but I didn't think it would be too bad, in fact I thought it would be refreshing. The rain of the weekend has now settled into solid form, a shiny ice covers most surfaces. The sky was bringing the gift of a new, flaky snow as I left to drive to the Fort Snelling station. The wind was whipping the coats of my soon-to-be fellow travelers as I parked my car and scuttled toward the station. Not too bad, I thought. Jumping on the train, I settled back into my seat to read a few pages of my novel. Warm, toasty.

Getting off at Nicollet Mall, the wind really picked up and I began to feel the prickling sensation of genuine cold on my cheeks and began to question myself. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. I kept my head down, watching only my booted feet as I moved with other automatons down the mall. That's when I heard her. My eyes looked up to see a young woman, bundled in perfect Minnesota winter wear, scarf covering her neck and cheeks,backpack on her back but a small drum in her hand. She wasn't playing for money or panhandling. She was simply walking along to her own drumbeat. I smiled.

A few blocks further than the drumming woman, I was greeted with a hearty "Good Morning!" Looking up from my careful ice-dodging I saw one of the uniformed Minneapolis ambassadors whose job it seems is to keep things tidy and to be cheerful.I returned his smile and made my now nearly frozen face muscles form a "good morning". 

Then just past the friendly greeter I saw a beautiful sight: a row of little faces, a rainbow of children, all lined up looking out the window onto the mall. They were smiling and gently pounding on the window. At first I thought they were an extension of the ambassador program stationed to greet me, but then I saw what had their attention. A large riding snowblower was cleaning the newly fallen snow off the sidewalk. They were so excited by the sight that I found myself sharing in their joy. I, on the outside, wanted to run up and hug the driver on their behalf but thought better of it.

If I had driven my car to work, I would have missed these little morning gifts. Sitting in stalled traffic, creeping on icy roads bumper to bumper, I would have been denied the drumming woman, the friendly greeter and the welcoming faces of toddlers. What a shame that would have been! Making my way on through Loring Park, I realized I was humming this song to myself:

"This day God sends me, strength as my guardian,
Might to uphold me, Wisdom as guide.
Your eyes are watchful, your ears are listening,
Your lips are speaking, friend at my side."

The wisdom of St. Patrick found its way into my glorious morning!