Author Archives: sherryvycitalyork

Millions of tiny paratroopers invaded my yard today Falling from an overcast sky, dark and cold and grey“Whence come you?” I wondered aloud as my gaze was castTo watch the snow flakes tumble down, winter here at lastOr could they be but dandelion seeds blowing on the windOn a balmy summer day, to lift andContinue reading “Wondrous Invasion”

Pregnant pause, the muffled din Ceases clamor, listens in To the sounds of silence Tires crackle an icy road Pierce the quiet, presence told Then vanish in the silence The lingering laugh of children pulled Toboggans careening round the woodTil bedtime claims their silence Trees and bushes heavy full Wear coverings of frozen wool Birds,Continue reading “A Snowy Night”

As Christmas time comes round againOur hearts review of life beginsTo ponder truths or whys beneathThe things we do, prospects to meetThe yearnings deep beneath the smilesLonely, wounds, unending trialsAnd still the night returns to dayThen night again as carols play And deep within our hearts we wonder“Why, oh why is all a blunder?”Yet, deeplyContinue reading “At Christmas Time”

“Ho! Ho! Ho!” sang a sweet voice across the expanse of snow. I sat slumped in my car, wrapped in fleece jacket and down coat, unsure of what to do next. Christmas was less than three weeks away, and although I was near “ready” in the secular sense, I could tell my spirit was illContinue reading “Christmas Greetings”

Tiny crystals began to formFrom whisps of dew drops floating highGathered in a cloudy shape Rising in a dawning skyBefore the sun peeked o’re the hillsThe cloud rose higher joining more Droplet crystals merging there Glittering unique icy forms The cloudy weight could not hold That beauty all within itself Released its tiny flakes toContinue reading “Snowfall”

Skimming along with the wind through America’s heartland I am impressed with the vast fields that go on as far as the eye can see, the rise and fall of the land a great ocean tide. Dotted here and there, miles in between, a single low-slung building, or two, hiccup the horizon, companioned by aContinue reading “Of Land And Wind”

Rocketing along at seventy miles per hour, our black Subaru stuck to the highway with all of its however many pounds fully loaded. We were literally left in the swirling dust by tanker trucks and a curiously fuzzy fishing boat. Covered with dead bushes and branches, at first it appeared someone was hauling dead woodContinue reading “Somewhere In Kansas”

Undulating plats of rich plowed earthPimpled with rounded bales of hay Stubbled whiskers glisten the dirtRemnants of corn from harvest day Wind gusts swirl o’er endless seas Fallow lands renew once moreWheat and corn to sprout again Repeat the cycle o’er and o’erMetal cones with pointed hats Squatty silos filled with grain Sentinel outposts inContinue reading “Nebraska Fields”

For some reason my psyche just was not up to it, walking into a situation that made me very uncomfortable. A place I had been many times before, and yet this time seemed threatening. I looked woefully at my husband…”I feel like I’m walking into the lions’ den.” In the Old Testament the prophet DanielContinue reading “Facing The Lions’ Den”

Am I really listening, LORDTaking time to sit with You Inquiring of Your thoughts for meLest I run on blissfully? I can throw out prayerful wordsFlung while rushing out the door But have I listened, really heardWords that You have spoken, LORD? No surprise I wonder why Prayers seem unanswered as I try Asking YouContinue reading “My Will or Thine?”

Yes, it seems weird. The first in forty-three years that we have not spent Thanksgiving with at least one, if not more, of our children. Usually extended family would be part of the gathering, as well. And actually that extended part did occur this year. Not with those in the town where we live… thisContinue reading “A New Thanksgiving”

Contemplating my life’s path, I often wonder at the choices I’ve made. When I turned left instead of right, only to find provision for the road to the right came shortly after. When I’ve changed my mind and struck out in a new direction that over the years has challenged me to the depths. WhenContinue reading “Revisiting Redemption”

It has to start somewhere, those rushing torrents that carve our lands, bring a drink to growing crops, slack the thirst of drying throats. Zillions of collected drops flow as one seeking where to go, meandering, rushing, or cascading o’er. Perhaps a dewdrop starts it all… yet from where has the dewdrop come to softlyContinue reading “The Way The River Runs – Thanksgiving 2021”

“Not good enough” is a lie indeed It’s fodder spreading farther outThan just the shame it breeds within Casting thoughts full of doubt So if I’m finally “good enough”What does that portray of my worth?That I’ll do as the last resort? That I’m ok though far from “first”?Like a worn out fishing net“Good enough” usedContinue reading “Towards Wholeness”

Isaiah 41:10 hit me right between the eyes. Exactly the “verse of the day” I needed. It wasn’t that anything huge or horrible was about to happen, yet I was feeling stress anticipating all the “what-ifs” that could transpire. Mind spinning at warp speed, a migraine still lingered from the day before, as did physicalContinue reading “Fear Not”

Years ago I read a book No Little People written by the well known Christian leader Francis A. Schaeffer. Now decades later the truth of the fact that there are “no little people,” no matter one’s stature, has come to shine its light deeply in me. It has been a long fought journey learning toContinue reading “No Little People”

Perusing Jacquie Lawson animated greeting cards last Christmas season, I came upon one entitled An Unexpected Nativity. In it a cat creates havoc in a barn as a dog chases it about. The cat runs over and under, on top of and amongst shelves of tools, knocking over equipment and a dangling lift rope thatContinue reading “Grace In The Chaos”

Fear tries its best to spin about Wind me up, throw me out Of balance or off kilter To keep me running lest I find Not in control I unwind Into a restless fodder Fodder to be spun again Anxiety reeking stress within To look wherever I can sense Relief in desperation Peace quietly andContinue reading “Of Fear and Peace”

Recently I opened a long held treasure, a companion devotional to that excellent one “God Calling,” messages to Two Listeners that were edited for publication in 1935 by A.J. Russell. This companion devotional, “God At Eventide” was written fifteen years later, messages again received by the Two Listeners. I was overcome with the relevance andContinue reading “My Mandate”

Myles Munroe, in his excellent book Understanding Your Place in God’s Kingdom: Your Original Purpose for Existence, states, “God’s number-one priority for mankind is that we discover, understand, and enter the Kingdom of God”(e-page 3272 of 4563 – Day 2 of Devotion section). This would sound like a simplistic statement at first glance, and yetContinue reading “Becoming Real”

When contemplating grace that’s given To those who’ve many decades lived Who growing older taste infirm Whose hair turns gray, whose vision blurs How interesting I am one of them Not captured up when youngerRemember when in days of youth We yearned to be but older still Dreaming of the days to come Pushing timeContinue reading “Children After All”

Stashed under the bed for several years, the large octagon board with seven curved sectional pieces, and a bundle of eight straight short boards, was pulled into the light of day for repair. Inherited from my dear husband’s grandfather, the board holds stories of being carried from family to family through his grandfather’s beloved uncle’sContinue reading “The Crokinole Board”

Where was it coming from? Lovely instrumental music playing on the wind at 1:30 in the morning as I sat quietly in my office recliner, pausing at the end of day. It was pleasant and winsome, soothing and melodious, and altogether unusual to hear this time of night. Peeking out the window revealed mist andContinue reading “Music In The Night”

Listening to Robert Childs’ story of his love for violin making, his “listening to the wood” as he crafts instruments that sing, reminded me how quickly toe-tapping fiddle playing can lift one’s spirit. Hours of tireless workmanship go into the honing of each specific violin crafted especially for its designated player. Resulting harmony created throughContinue reading “Just Fiddling Around”

It cut. Deep. The hurt more than she had met before. Slicing, ragged, the dissection impersonal and careless. Inflicted without remorse. Not even a shred. It was as though she did not exist, was of no value, just a useless toy to be played with, abused, and tossed away. The wounds would not be forgotten.Continue reading “Beneath The Plow”