Angels We Have Heard On High

I have always loved the Christmas hymn, Angels We Have Heard On High. In my church, with our beautiful choir, and vaulted ceilings, the song echoes through and reverberates with a sound that is so powerful. When we sing it, I feel most close to God and his hand on me.

As I enjoy the holidays with family, and even though it’s different and a bit weird this year, I am still grateful for everything I have, and those who love me. A weird thing happened with the pandemic this year: our worries shifted, and our priorities changed. I always wanted to create better balance of being a mom and giving my son the time he needed, and making more time for me. The pandemic gave me that opportunity, well forced the opportunity. Looking back, some parts of 2020 were extremely hard, harder than I’d care to tell you or personally share, but they were hard, and they made me more resilient. 2020 also taught me bravery, I would have never in a million years jump started Self-Care Señorita if I had been last year. It wouldn’t have been a priority, I would have made excuses, and honestly, I would have been too scared.

And in that fear I listened to God, and friends, and family and was brave. I was brave for me, and for my son, for friends and family, and I used the gifts God has given me to be able to help others this past year. I often pray early in the morning, looking out of my bedroom window at the fog and watching the sunrise and I am reminded of the angels who watch over us. This year, for my birthday I got two very special tattoos: a shark, and a cardinal. The shark is for Braxton, who loves sharks, but also because he is fierce and majestic. I got a cardinal in honor of the people I have lost. The fable says that when a cardinal appears to you, it is a lost one watching over you. Starting in March until October we had a cardinal that lived in our backyard and would come and greet us multiple times a day. On days that were really hard, I’d glance out the window and see him, and he’d chirp. It may sound silly to some, but to me, it was my grandpa giving me encouragement, telling me he loved me, and giving me a sense of strength needed for that moment. He’s my angel, along with so many others, that I know protect me and my family every day.

Quietly I’ll sip some tea tonight, in a chair, and listen to this song and let all of the emotions take over me, those of gratitude and loss, of love and hope, and most of all inspiration.

I hope your angels are singing to you tonight, and always,

xoxo

Tori

“Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly, sweetly through the night
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their brief delight

Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?

Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo

Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing,
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo

Yeah
Gloria, in excelsis Deo

Angels we have heard
Angels we have heard on high
Angels we have heard, oh
Angels we have heard on high
Angels we have heard on high
Angels we have heard on high

In excelsis Deo”