A ROAD MAP TO JOYPoems and StoriesFind Your Way in a World of Discontent Step into a world where faith and poetry intertwine—where the flicker of hope leads you down a path toward lasting joy. In “A Road Map to Joy,” Bonnie Saul Wilks gathers luminous poems and reflective stories that capture the ache and…
Category: Culture
Day of Atonement: The Promise of Provision
On Yom Kippur, heartsbecome as white as apriest’s prepared andpure white linengarments created forthe holiest sanctuaryon the holiest day ofthe year. The priestenters this placewith sobriety andthe fear of the Lord.He represents thepeople to Godand God to the people.Hearts ascend in quietsurrender as sweetincense arises. This is the day tocleanse, repair, repent—to seek forgivenessto make…
This Will Break Charlie’s Heart
I recently read of Charlie Kirk that, while the nation mourns his death, we must never forget his rhetoric–which did not exemplify the gospel of Jesus or the way of the cross. That Kirk was ultimately a brilliant MAGA apologist and right wing conservative provocateur. A myriad of analysts, opposed to his views, have accused…
Betrayal
Don’t think of betrayal, rejection, disappointment, or failure as deprivation, rather a nutrient-rich, bitter bite. Trees are pruned in slices, without ruth, to the life-giving quick of a bearing branch. The inward, blue stripes of brokenness–that rite of passage called surrender–produces the most impassioned, sweetest, and lasting fruit. You will rise again to re-plow, re-seed,…
Golden Harvest
I will plant seeds in the barren soil of your heartache and loneliness. I will water the hard ground with your tears, shed in the secret disappointments of your heart. My smile will burn through the your weary darkness and scatter the storm clouds. I will grow a harvest from what you rejected, wasted, and…
Words and the Sea
The sea is awake and the sand asleep. Waves wash over the uncombed glittering grains with generosity. Over and over they move in tandem, in rhythm—the washing in and out of great salty waters. My heart stings as the saline potion washes clean the wounds of yesterday. Collapsed and cradled in the arms of the…
The Line is Drawn
On this day last year, we were in Scotland and our broken hearts cracked open to release tears and more tears, until they ran clear in healing streams. Those waters flowed freely and wildly to a holy, thin place between the wings of the cherubim. There we stretched out flat on our bellies and wailed,…
The Lily
The lesser and greater lights, and all living things thrive, cradled in your robes. But not I. Hidden in the pierced place of the palm of Your hands, my soul takes rest and my spirit sparks upward into everlasting love. How can I keep saying thank you as the lily? Her sun-scrubbed face upturned into…
New Beginnings Call for Remembering Roots
It’s late May and sometimes the early mornings are still cool here in Texas. Today is one of those glorious days. Wayne and I thought that it would be especially poignant on this beautiful spring morning to return to our roots. We took a walk around the prayer center connected to the Grand Prairie campus…
I Am Jesus
In the scorched earth of the October 7th war and against the black shroud of inconceivable inhumanity, death, and mourning, I unexpectedly discovered a riot of living and colorful resilience, hope, and even joy among Israelis during our recent trip to the Mid East. I had not imagined this response, and it captured my attention…
Bonnie Saul Wilks 