April 27, 2009

p is for...






Paper cranes.

One thousand paper cranes.
That is her goal... to honor a girl's life... or more, her hope. Laura has been folding paper scraps for quite a while... not nearly one thousand, but maybe one hundred. But her love of origami is not confined to the beautiful papers made for this craft... Laura will fold anything... homework, wrapping paper, a church bulletin, even a peppermint patty wrapper. I wonder if she will get there... to one thousand... because she is as generous with her paper cranes as she is her heart. She has probably given half of what she has folded... the most recent being to our friend Judy, who lost her husband. As we were sealing the card, Laura rushed in with a golden paper crane... which now hangs from the ceiling in Judy's home.

I finally sat down and read her book, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. Although the story is a sad one, there is joy in the hope that this young girl had... her determination. And also in the lives she touched... the lives of her friends... who made sure Sadako's goal was met. One thousand paper cranes... that symbolize long life, health, and good fortune.


This is our cry,
this is our prayer,
peace in the world.


I wonder what the others picked for "P"... find out over at Unglazed for more of A to Z Monday!

10 comments:

Shelley said...

Such a kind heart! Those paper cranes are beautiful...

reliv4life said...

what a wonderful gift to give someone! You have a precious daughter.

Busy Bee Suz said...

What a beautful gesture from a giving young lady!
I hope she gets there...eventually.

Jen said...

Busy hands show a happy heart
and spreads it to others.
HaPPy Monday!

Cassie said...

Very good P. Paper is a necessity as far as I'm concerned. Best wishes for Precious Laura and her quest of 1000 cranes. We had a Japanese exchange student when Jessica was in grade school and she taught her to make all kinds of origami thingies. I still find a crane or other little critter tucked into a book once in awhile.

Minerva said...

What a giving heart Laura has. I love paper cranes. It reminds me of an older post on my blog dated July 16, 2008. My daughter received some cranes from a special friend..

Unknown said...

Perfect! I love those paper cranes, and I'm in awe of people who can do that!

Ben said...

That is such a neat tradition - you have a very enlightened daughter to do something so thoughtful.

M said...

What a beautiful post...during one of my daughter's hospital stays a mother was making paper cranes...she did reach 1,000 with the help of parents, patients and staff...a wonderful group effort.

Unknown said...

Such a blessing. Such a beautiful, beautiful blessing.