Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? Like thousands of pickup sticks falling into some sort of exquisite, balanced conglomeration? This fall and winter holiday season has blown in as suddenly as a gusty wind. How can it be less than forty-eight hours before Thanksgiving Day? I smiled at a friend’s Facebook post:Continue reading “Thanksgiving Week 2023”
Author Archives: sherryvycitalyork
Buckie the Bull and Other Short Stories
If you enjoy animals, have a youthful heart, and struggle at times to make sense of life, check out my new book, Buckie the Bull and Other Short Stories. Written for ages 10 and older ((fifth grade reading level), these sixteen faith-based short stories of a farm family, their friends, and their animals will warmContinue reading “Buckie the Bull and Other Short Stories”
Tap Tap Tap
Tap tap tapDo you hear my callTap tap tapWhen will it fall Tap tap tapAm I breaking through That wall surrounding you Tap tap tapThe world’s voice is strong Tap tap tapWill you hear my songTap tap tapWill love be received Or are you rejecting me Tap tap tapMy love will never cease Tap tapContinue reading “Tap Tap Tap”
A Brooding Heart
Sadness creased the elder’s face Thoughts of children dear to heart No longer sharing time and space Though not living far Turned away from heart of home To explore the worldly realm Left behind a beating heart Chose instead a heart of stone Yet the heart of home still beats Wrings with anguish and withContinue reading “A Brooding Heart”
A Frantic Chicken
After an intense two weeks of good things, hard things, challenging things, a weird sense of overwhelm descended and I tumbled unexpectedly into exhaustion. As my enthusiasm and energy drained away, the old adage of “running around like a chicken with its head cut off” came to mind. How often do we humans race intoContinue reading “A Frantic Chicken”
A Grain of Sand
Who are you small grain of sand Lost ‘mongst trillions in the sea Washed and tossed and swirled around Gulped, spit out repeatedly And yet you’ve stuck somewhere fast Encapsulated in your world‘Til light shined on opened shell Look! What wonder! You’re a pearl! Had you ever barely dreamed Beyond confines of tiny frameTo becomeContinue reading “A Grain of Sand”
Opening A Door
Tears streamed down her face. How could a few chapters of a book pierce her to the core, open a door to a locked room she knew not existed? How could this be? And what would she, could she do about it? At this moment in time…nothing. Her life path was chosen, ruts worn deep.Continue reading “Opening A Door”
A Random Conversation
A meeting had been set for ten o’clock. No texts had come since last week to confirm the time. Still she went. “LORD, please guide me if there is anyone You plan for me to meet today,” she prayed, then quietly stepped into the coffee shop. Had her appointment arrived, come and gone, or wasContinue reading “A Random Conversation”
Fields of Roofs
In 1954 my hometown boasted a population of 12,500…or was it 25,000? My memory has blurred, yet the contrast with today’s 470,000 census is stark. Our wide agricultural valley is slowly turning into urbanville. Endless neighborhoods, sprawling subdivisions, and acres of multistoried apartments cover vast fields once known for prime pheasant hunting. The longest partContinue reading “Fields of Roofs”
Overcoming Guilt and Shame
Even in my elder years, remnants of guilt and shame bubble up from somewhere deep inside, life-long shadows of mistakes and hurts. Although Jesus Christ has saved me from the penalty of my sin, my facing, forgiving, and accepting myself has been an ongoing process. Recently, a friend shared definitions of guilt and shame: GuiltContinue reading “Overcoming Guilt and Shame”
Far Too Long
It’s been far too long since we’ve talked Since grandkids came and books were readSince dogs and cats and our goose Chased our children in the yard And frogs sang ‘neath the house Since children played long night games Laughing, running bush to bush Who would reach the front porch firstAvoid the tag and notContinue reading “Far Too Long”
The Refiner’s Fire
Gold born in crude earthen condition Impurities girdling, invading within Confining hardness needs to be broken Release contaminants’ hold Mere specks of glory hidden beneath Wait for refinement to be revealed Heated to melt, burn not awayThe gold, but all that is not Cast in the fire of sanctification Dross bubbling up into confession BarsContinue reading “The Refiner’s Fire”
Salmon Run
Small fry wriggling in delight Through rocks and pebbles of stream bedForm a school born up high In mountain waters fed Growing slow yet rapid stillCruising shoals and waterfallsAvoiding spears and fishing hooks Eagle talons and bear jawsOn t’wards the sea to be Full of life robust and strong ‘Til the day the mountains sing‘ComeContinue reading “Salmon Run”
Meeting Forgiveness
The wound had been healing for years. It was hard to keep track of time, the calendar flipping like frenzied numbers on an old clock radio. All the woman knew was the ongoing cry of her heart…her whole, easily bruised being physically hurt. “You really need a counselor,” she was told. That broadsided her. SheContinue reading “Meeting Forgiveness”
Church Hurt
Hurt caused by people within the Church comes close to home. An in-law’s deep disappointment when not supported during great family need; hypocrisy of church members souring another’s faith; a young one misunderstood, ridiculed, and ostracized for a different personality; others deeply wounded by non-biblical choices of leadership taking matters into their own hands, movingContinue reading “Church Hurt”
Under the Hosta
Axel scurried across the lawn, the early evening breeze a tail wind. Snakes and mice and squirrels, oh my! Such a long day of hunting and chasing. In need of a break, he crossed Swat’s well-worn path and ducked under a large hosta leaf. The size of the plant accommodated his full-grown length and girth,Continue reading “Under the Hosta”
The Sea of Hope
Piercing…how else could the jolts be described? The lights suddenly flipped, speech was silenced, understanding fled, and he was left adrift, a spirit afloat in a broken vessel at the mercy of forces beyond human control. Was this the crowning assault on his life? Was he near the end of his run only to beContinue reading “The Sea of Hope”
A Narrow Place
Minuscule seeds blown into a sidewalk crack quietly grew towards the sun. Tiny faces of Johnny Jump-ups bloomed purple, yellow and white on narrow stalks swaying in the now pounding rain. Did they bow their heads protectively, or did the force of the storm push them down? Either way, the well-named volunteer row of (somehowContinue reading “A Narrow Place”
For That Veteran
An unusual sense of foreboding hovered over the gloomy low-ceilinged parking garage. I drove cautiously to the second level before finding an empty spot, and was relieved it faced the outside light. An older grey sedan pulled in on my left moments later, and out popped an equally older, short, wiry man whose wrinkled, weatheredContinue reading “For That Veteran”
Mountain Spring Time
Old Man Winter began to shave His white beard shorter day by dayBalding head with white tufts plain Sideburn whiskers yet remainRidges, crevices of his nose All his wrinkles full exposed Now grow tender fuzzy hairEager sprouts on mountains fairWhile he closes eyes to slumberSweating in the noonday sun Rivulets pour from his crown RiverContinue reading “Mountain Spring Time”
A Beautiful Meeting
There he was…dark haired, mustached, tall and lean…just as in their youth. She’d heard, then saw him looking for tools in the workroom, his mannerisms reminding her of Dad, purposeful and precise. Decades pulled them from each other, stretched like taffy. Previous grand gatherings dwindled with growing families, varying interests, different friends, the pandemic; allContinue reading “A Beautiful Meeting”
Overcoming Again
She lay flattened on the floor, the wind knocked out of her from the never ending battle. She awakened each day this way, a lingering shred of hopelessness refusing to let go. Was she a mother sorrowing for her adult children, their choices hurting them? A wife caring for her ailing husband? One enduring herContinue reading “Overcoming Again”
The Father’s Care
“Go! Into the house now!” her father thundered. His elder daughter’s defiant eyes flashed as she stood daring to glare at him. “Go now!” he growled, not with menace but authority. She spun on her heel and fled, slamming the door behind her as she stomped into the house. She, with her mother, had selfishlyContinue reading “The Father’s Care”
Hope Deferred
Waiting with prayerful petition Goes on forever at times Months slow turn into decades Years roll languidly byHeart sick heavy with sorrowRefusing to heal, to mend A shroud of heaviness hangingMulling its way in the dim Why yet no answers so wanted Those heartfelt cries to aboveOh to see the great picture See with God’sContinue reading “Hope Deferred”
Fading
Wispy like clouds…that’s how she felt. Stretched for so long it seemed holes were holding her together. No wonder an emptiness invaded. Not depression really, just a void. It was a strange experience, more tolerable the older she grew. Watching changes in her loved ones and friends added to the taste of life distancing…becoming lessContinue reading “Fading”
Dew Upon The Arbor 