The Tomb

   At my college, there's an area set apart from the whole campus where we have a perpetual Adoration chapel, a shrine devoted to the Infant Jesus, a shrine for Our Blessed Mother, a beautiful path to pray the Stations of the Cross, and a shrine that contains the Tomb of the Unborn. I make it a point to escape to this peaceful sanctuary often, to relax in God's love and reflect and pray. I have been particularly drawn to the Tomb of the Unborn. I frequently visit the tomb, where I sit on the cold ground, surrounded by a forest of trees with golden leaves, and I rest. I pray for the souls that never got a chance to simply be. I reflect on what it would be like if I never got to see the colors of Autumn, or visit My Lord in Eucharistic Adoration. Visiting that shrine renews my appreciation and realization that life is sacred and beautiful.
   I wrote this reflection from the point of view of a girl who's older brother was aborted before she ever got to know him:

To The Brother I Never Knew:

Light. Sunrise. Dew. Arise.
Feeling the wind on your back and the warmth of the sun on your face.
Smelling the smell of early morning coupled with the fresh, awakening scent of dew.
Holding a steaming, warm mug of coffee in your hands, as you are enveloped by a soft, fuzzy blanket.
Hearing the birds chirp away and the rustling of crisp leaves on the cold ground, covered in an autumn blanket.
Seeing the colors of fall all around you, surrounded by the most beautiful shades of gold and red.
Feeling the stiff, worn, wood swing creaking underneath you as you rock back and forth.
Taking a deep breath of refreshing, crisp air, slowly exhaling, and feeling your entire being relax into the forest around you.
Thinking about God's beauty and goodness, simply being one with nature and nature's Lord.
Being wrapped in the loving arms of the One who created you, knowing He loves you and treasures you.
Smiling because, despite the struggles of living day to day, life is beautiful, God is beautiful, and He created you, beautiful.
Yes, life is beautiful. Life is beautiful and good, and brother, I wish you got to experience this.