What voices am I listening toDefining life, how I should beNot only in the world around But also what I think of me Do they tell the truthHave you ever heard inside A voice insisting you are small Diminished in some unique wayNot good enough, somehow wrong Just because you’re youWhen I found in ChristContinue reading “Voices”
Tag Archives: hope
Get Up and Walk!
Thinking about our grandson’s requirement to get up and walk after thoracic surgery, I could imagine his pain and the natural guardedness one has when asked to get out of bed and move. Bearing that pain, anticipating more pain, taking courage, receiving help from others, rising up, taking the first step… Like the pain ofContinue reading “Get Up and Walk!”
Entrusting with Hope
So many parents share our hurt A child now grown throws us away Rejects love, the blessings given Denying good we’ve brought her way It hurts, LORD, this rejection deep So well You know the pain we feel Shock, confusion settling in Before air clears to see it’s real Now we must forgive ourselvesOf imperfections,Continue reading “Entrusting with Hope”
Walking With Hope
We two walked there arm in arm Speaking in low voiceShe allowed me to hold on Surprised me with that choice I saw her there in my dreams Our daughter now estrangedMy firstborn a treasured giftWhom I long to see again Long suffering my heart does yearnFor closeness we once shared Before events of lifeContinue reading “Walking With Hope”
Celebrating Freedom
What joy to live in such a placeThat holds freedom high With gratitude for such a gift Think long what brought it by It is a gift, hard fought and wonA gift through sacrifice A gift to treasure and protectBought with excessive priceFree to live and to thriveTo seek the truth to know Realities ofContinue reading “Celebrating Freedom”
The Lost Cat
Dreaming vividly I awakened, my mind still engaged in technicolor drama, scenes playing on throughout the day. Was the dream somewhat prophetic… a harbinger of events of tomorrow’s meeting? Or just my mind’s imaginings? Nearly fifty years ago I unexpectedly plucked a tiny kitten from an icy November night. She ultimately warmed the cold andContinue reading “The Lost Cat”
To Be Known
Who am I? Does anybody care about me? Am I lovable? What’s my identity? Am I good enough? All through life the need to be loved and known are cries of the human heart. From those first baby wails of “Help me! Feed me! Make me safe!” we need attention, deep down inside. It isContinue reading “To Be Known”
The Gift of Irritation
Perhaps we are gifted With a thorn of irritation To help us see within ourselves Our own throbbing situation I wonder why a teller’s stance Never seems to change And sigh deep within myself‘Oh, here we go again!’Pricks of aggravation Settle o’re my countenance Listening to the same old tomeHearing heartfelt elegance Then contemplate whyContinue reading “The Gift of Irritation”
Cloaks of Identity
“Belonging comes before identity. Ownership births purpose. Someone speaks whose we are, and out of that we become who we are. It’s just the way the heart works…” —Charles Martin, Keeper of Water. Having recently finished Keeper of Water, the above quote has resonated in my soul. Somewhere deep in one’s being there is thatContinue reading “Cloaks of Identity”
Beneath the Ventilator
As the woman lay flaccid she barely felt the tube placed into her airway, emergency treatment to correct her failed breathing. Her body raged with pneumonia and infection, her temperature high, her fluid levels low as dehydration became worse. Completing the intubation the paramedics hovered over her, administering oxygen while providing respiratory support via ambuContinue reading “Beneath the Ventilator”
Skating Blind
She touched his face, and then again after a spin, as though orienting herself to him as the music started. I was mesmerized by the gracefulness of both these young skaters, he in a dark suit, she in a gossamer short dress. There was an air of innocence in their demeanor, that kind of purityContinue reading “Skating Blind”
Victim or Victory
When reading posts on Facebook (mine included), I find at times a thread of victimhood that raises its hoary head. It knocks on my door of awareness, and breaks my heart for those ensnared, captured in ways perhaps they do not yet recognize. That has certainly been my life’s experience. As the windows of myContinue reading “Victim or Victory”
On the Brink of Eternity
Someone said she was dying. Decades before her grandson-in-law had quipped, “We are all dying a little bit each day, from the day we were born.” Well, that was understandable… yes, we grow, and as each day brings us closer to our earthly end, one could say we are all on the dying continuum. SeemsContinue reading “On the Brink of Eternity”
Beyond Vulnerability
She could barely describe the situation, so overwhelming it felt. Yet she knew she could not rely on her feelings… they were capricious, diaphanous, wispy like foggy droplets wafting on the breeze. They were without substance… just feelings. And yet they flew at her like ice pellets in a raging storm. She felt her headContinue reading “Beyond Vulnerability”
Dew Upon The Arbor 