In memory of Corporal David Braun - 27th Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2002:

God is holding out his hands to you. They hold in them the Earth and the Universe and the Heavens. Now, they are being held, to you.

In God's hands are pearls, beautiful shiny pearls. They are so tiny. Though tiny, you see them hiding amidst dust and grime and muck built up over the centuries. God is watching you. He is watching your heart, and your hands. He sees you wipe away your tears with your own hands. Now he sees you reach toward His hands and start to brush away the dust. He sees you trying to pick out the pieces of muck and grime. He is watching as you struggle. There are more tears. You forget. You go to brush them away. Your face, also, becomes marked by the muck and grime.
God reaches to you. His hands touch your face. They smooth away all the tears, all the muck. Then God bends down. In one soft breath, he blows all the dust and grime and muck out of his own hands. The shiny pearls of joy are left in all their glory.

You recognize them. You reach and grasp them. You look up. God has turned away. You lift the joy to your heart.