Holly is my choice for this year’s Christmas card. I decide on that early in my visit to America when I see a holly bush. Though it isn’t in good condition and I immediately reject the carol line “Deck the halls with boughs of holly” as a theme, my mind is nevertheless made up.
Now it is the day before my return to India. I am without photos of holly. Deciding to ride with my daughter to the post office to mail a package while she takes my granddaughter to work, when she stops the car and dashes across the street, I realize that I’m not to take my package in—time is short. I casually look out my back seat window to pass the few minutes… and see a holly bush less than two feet away. It’s at the bottom of a hill with the owner’s home farther up. As I’m opening the door, I’m opening my phone and tapping the camera icon. Aiming, I click, then click again, and am back in the car as my daughter’s door closes.
My realization is, “In this season of faith, it appears with a measure of happiness.”