A Special day for Memorial -- Heaven's Tiniest Angel

Memorial lay on her tummy peering of the edge of a fluffy white cloud.

In her hand she held a small pouch of gold dust swept up from Heaven's floor.

As she dipped her tiny fingers into the pouch and released the dust in the morning breeze, she giggled in delight as it landed on the dew kissed petals of the rose below.

She lay on her tummy, kicking her feet about her back, watching as the little girl in the garden below ran from flower to flower. Memorial clapped her hands in delight when the gold dusted rose caught the eye of the child.

As the little girls skipped toward the rose, she exclaimed "Grandma, we need this one! It's the prettiest rose in the garden?"

"Memorial;" the voice of Gabriel spoke behind her; "what are you doing here?"

As she stuffed the pouch of gold under tummy she looked back on the senior angel and with wide innocent eyes, she replied; "I'm just watching".

"And what are you watching?"

The little girl below is helping her grandma pick roses from their garden. I'm helping her. Oops, I mean I'm watching her."

"What are you hiding Memorial? I saw you tuck a pouch under your tummy, what is in it."

"Just some old dust I picked up off the ground."

"Just some old dust; you mean just some old gold dust don't you?'

Memorial ducked her head, and her tiny halo went tumbling forward, and landed on the soft pillows of a nearby cloud. "Yes sir", she whispered.

"Uh hum, well, you know, you've been warned about this. Now fetch your halo and come with me."

Memorial rolled over the edge of her perch, and landed in a soft plop' on the cloud that now held her halo. With tiny fingers, she picked up the halo and did her best to right it into its proper place.

Gabriel stood near by, patiently tapping a toe on a cloud as he watch the little angel piddle and stall.

Finally she was beside him, and he reached to take her tiny hand.

Together they went through the gates of Heaven, and walked to the great throne where sat God, in all his glory.

He looked down on Memorial, and spoke in a low quiet voice. "Have you been misbehaving again Memorial?"

The tiny angel shuffled her feet and closed her eyes against the look of disappointment she knew she would see on God's face "yes sir, I have."

"And what were you doing?"

"Helping the little girl pick flowers."

God smiled only briefly at the innocence of the reply, then pressed further even though he knew the answer, "And how were you helping?"

In barely a whisper Memorial said "I was sprinkling gold dust on the prettiest one."

"If it was the prettiest one, why did it need gold dust?"

"I don't know, just because."

"Because why?"

"Because;" Memorial stomped her little foot, and sent her halo ajar. "If I didn't help her, she might not see it, and she needs the prettiest flower in the garden because she's picking it for her mommy, and if she missed it then saw it later she would be sad because she didn't see it in the first place. I didn't want the little girl to be sad, you don't want her to be sad either do you God?"

God chuckled; Heavens tiniest angel was feisty, sometimes naughty, but always well intentioned. "Well, no Memorial, I would not want the little girl to be sad, especially not today."

Memorial cocked her head to the side, and again the little halo went askew. "Why not especially today? Is it her birthday? It's not Christmas, no roses at Christmas, Mother's day was just a moment ago, so why especially not today?"

"Today is a special day, a day when everyone on earth remembers all their loved ones who have gone to Heaven. And, for today I have a special chore for you."

Memorial gasped in delight as she clasped her tiny hands together. No one had ever given her a chore, not the minor angels, not Gabriel, and especially not God.

She bounced up and down, clapping her hands; "I have a chore! Oh my! What is my chore? Is it really special? Will I like doing it? Is it important to you? Can I tell the other angels you gave me a chore? Oh!"

She looked into the eyes of God and saw that he was trying to be quite serious. She clamped her hand over her mouth, and waited for him to speak.

His eyes twinkled, but he kept a straight face at her little outburst. "Today you are going to visit with humans as they visit a special place. You chore is to help them remember the people they love who now live in Heaven."

"As far as liking your chore goes, you know that I would not give you a bad chore, but it won't always be easy. If you think it is getting hard, remember me and know that you are indeed doing something that is very important."

Memorial whispered; "yes sir, I will remember you."

At that Gabriel took her tiny hand and led her to that special place that God wanted her to go.

Memorial was a little puzzled by what she saw there. It was like a large garden, but instead of growing roses, it appeared that the garden grew stones.

The stones were a variety of shapes and sizes, and Memorial saw that each stone had writing on it. She asked Gabriel what the writing was, and why this place was special to God.

Gabriel explained that when people die, their souls go to Heaven to be with God, but their bodies are put in a special place called a cemetery.

The stones with writing on them are markers so that when loved ones want to visit the grave of their loved on, they can find it.

Memorial cocked her tiny head to one side, a puzzled look on her face, "But why? Why do they come here, when the souls are in Heaven?"

"Because, they can't come to Heaven, not yet at least. So this place is where they come to feel close to the one who has died, and to remember them in special ways. That is your job today Memorial, to help them remember."

So memorial planted herself at the gate of the strange garden and waited for someone to come who needed help.

By and by a couple came to the gate, their steps were heavy and their faces looked very sad. They carried a wreath of rose and carnation, decorated with a ribbon of red, white, and blue.

Memorial watched the pair, and knew that it was her chore to make them smile. She skipped along behind them until they knelt at a stone. No larger then a fleck of dust, she perched near the ear of the lady. She whispered gently, and the lady smiled. "Do you remember the day he enlisted?"

"I do", the man replied. "He was so happy to be going to serve his country. He felt it was his duty, his responsibility."

"He got that from you". She smiled "Always do what's right, always stand up for what you believe in. You told him that all of his life. He felt complete when he wore that uniform."

The man smiled; "Yes he did, but he got part of that from you too. Always look out for those who are weaker than you. Always show compassion to those who are not as blessed as you."

Again she smiled; "he was a fine man, a son to be proud of."

"Yes indeed" the man said.

When the couple left the special garden their steps were a bit lighter, their faces wore faint smiles of gentle remembrance. They had lost a son in battle. But his memory was renewed that day, and they felt a great sense of love and pride.

Memorial smiled wistfully, she had done a good job on her chore she knew, and wondered if the next one would come along soon.

Soon came along an old man, carrying a bouquet of snow white daisies. He walked slowly, using a cane to support himself. His eyes were bright with unshed tears, and Memorial knew she had a chore to do.

Too stiff to bend, he could do nothing but drop the flowers in front of the stone. Memorial drew a deep breath and blew on the flowers until they fanned out beautifully showing each little petal and each golden center.

The old man laughed, "Imagine that! They landed just the way you used to spread them out! I remember you always took such care to make everything perfect. I didn't know it mattered until now, but it did."

He chuckled out loud; "remember the time you fell down and spilled the flowers? You looked so funny sprawled out on the ground with peonies and iris and roses scattered from here to yon. You hollered when I laughed, but I couldn't help myself, even now, it is as funny as the day it happened. And in time, you laughed over it too. Not that day, but in time you did laugh."

As the old man turned to go, for just a moment, he caught a glimpse of his lovely wife, laughing and poking fun at herself, and Memorial knew she had completed her chore.

Throughout the day folks came and went. Memorial planted memories and happy thoughts like a country gardener planting flowers.

As evening grew near, she knew that her chore was going to end soon, and she hoped that God would be pleased with her work.

As she sat there wondering what he would say, she spied a child coming through the gate with a bouquet of roses clasped tightly in her hand.

Memorial gasped when she saw the rose, the very one that she had sprinkled with gold.

She wondered why the little girl was there. She had picked the roses for her mommy, and her mommy couldn't be here.

Following behind the child was a woman, the little girl called out to her "I know the way gramma"! Memorial hesitated and wondered, the little girl didn't look sad. But there had to be a reason that the same little child she'd helped chose roses was here at this place.

She followed behind the lady and girl, and stopped just short of them when they came to a stone.

The little girl laid the flowers on the ground, and said "here you are mommy, I picked them myself! Oh look at this one; it is the prettiest of all!"

Now angels are never sad, they have no sorrow in Heaven at all, and Memorial wasn't sure what the feeling inside her meant, but her tiny blue eyes grew misty, and her heart began to ache. What did God want her to do? She couldn't give the little girls mommy back to her, so why was she here? For surely nothing else could make the child happy.

The lady put her arm around her grand daughter. "Do you remember your mommy" she asked.

The little girl dropped her head and shuffled her feet, and immediately Memorial knew that this was the most important chore of all.

With invisible wings she flew to the child and whispered great things in her ear.

The little girl looked up at her grandma, "Yes I remember mommy! She used to hold me and sing songs to me.

"We used to play house together under the kitchen table, and when I would fall down and skin my knees she healed them with kisses.

"And she told me that no matter how big I got or how far away from each other we were, I would always be her little girl, and she would always love me very, very much!"

When the little girl left the special stone, Memorial lingered, making memories of her own. She was there yet when Gabriel returned and took her by the hand.

As she stood in front of God, he asked her how her day was, and she told him it was the loveliest day she had ever spent.

He smiled a great smile that made his face glow, and he told her that this was the day for which she had been made.

He told her that she had helped them all in a very special way, for this day was her namesake, Memorial Day.

So when you go to visit a stone, just know that you are not there alone. Memorial is there right at your side, helping you remember all the good things you should, and wiping away your tears with gentle memories of a life lived, not a life lost