In the distance, a curtain of glowing light began to dance in the sky, as if a lava lamp had been poured onto the horizon.
“You’re right, Mom,” Arden said, her voice rising in excitement. “It’s happening!”
The glow slowly got bigger, richer, brighter, until all the heavens were filled with ghostly, colorful lights. Purples, pinks, greens radiated from every corner of the sky, alive, dancing, unveiling their mystery for all the world to see.
Lauren grabbed her phone and began to take pictures with her camera, oohing and aahing like it was the Fourth of July.
Lolly secretly turned her head to watch the reactions of her family. The lights played off their faces, whirled in their eyes, twinkled off Arden’s glasses, wonder etched on their faces like it was Christmas morning.
The amazing beauty of life and family, Lolly thought, smiling, if only we take the time to see it and cherish it.
Arden caught her mother looking at her, and she grabbed Lolly’s hand and squeezed it before following her gaze back out to the lights.
“Native Americans believed that the lights were the spirits of their people,” Lolly said softly. “I believe that. Right now, we can clearly see all of our family who came before us and shared the same earth, water, light, and air.”
Lolly stopped, the lights dancing off her face.
Lake Michigan reflected the Northern Lights, too, the waters dancing in delight. In the distance, the Manitou Islands seemed alive in the glow, and Arden’s heart overflowed thinking of the story her mother had shared earlier in the week.
Arden squeezed her mother’s hand again, and Lolly’s bracelet jangled as her daughter cradled her hand.
“These lights are like my charms,” Lolly said. “They remind us of our past and how blessed we are by the precious moments in our lives.”
How long will all of this last? Arden thought, looking at her mom and then again at the lights.
And, then, as quickly as it had started, the sky grew dim and the show was over.
“Is that what love feels like?” Lauren asked, her eyes still wide with wonder.
“If you’re lucky,” Arden and Jake said in unison.
“And we are,” Lolly said, as the four gathered their stuff and headed home.
part ten
The Mustard Seed Charm
To a Life Filled with Faith
Thirty-nine
Lauren jumped awake, her mind whirling like the Northern Lights, unable to sleep.
I feel as if my life is at a crossroads. I feel like all of our lives are at a crossroads, ran through her mind.
It was still dark, and she leaned over to read the alarm clock by her bed.
5:47.
She laid back down and shut her eyes, but her mind would not cooperate. She was still energized by what she had seen and experienced just a few hours earlier.
Lauren yawned, stretched, and went in search of coffee. As she was waiting for the pot to brew, she leaned against the counter in the kitchen, watching the lake come to life.
That’s when she saw it in the dusky dawn light: An easel, canvas, and paints were set up on the dock.
Grandma!
Lauren nearly shouted in excitement, and had to cover her own mouth to quiet herself. When the coffee was ready, she walked outside, looked out over the lake, and sipped from her cup, the sky and her senses coming alive.
She bowed her head to say a small prayer before dipping the tip of her brush into the paints, the sky quickly brightening over Lost Land.
She looked at the clear Michigan sky over Lost Land Lake and blew her bangs out of her eyes with a great sigh.
This isn’t just beautiful. It’s ethereal, she realized. The Northern Lights and now a heavenly sunrise.
The morning light shimmered through the trees and gave the lake an otherworldly hue. Everything in this Michigan world seemed to have a soft shimmer to it, as though God had hung gauze over the sky and softly scattered glitter on all his creations.
A little more gold? White? Blue? she considered.
This simple, little lake was filled with so much beauty.
It’s the light, my grandmother always told me. It’s the magical light, Lauren thought.
Scoops sat along the forty-fifth parallel north, a circle of latitude often called the halfway point between the equator and the North Pole.