She moves with stealth behind the scenes of autumn, steadily edging toward the razor cold and lacy veil of ice and crystal. Then quietly she falls, winter’s glorious mystique reveals in a day. In layers, it descends and deeper it penetrates, much more than surface. The chill and snow seeps below. But not to spurn. It’s the season of fireside reflections,…
Tag: Choice
Across the Kitchen Table
I turn 75 tomorrow. I don’t feel old or irrelevant, although my culture may tell me otherwise. Older, more savvy friends and pastoral mentors shared with Wayne and me in our early 40’s that life doesn’t even get really fun and rich until your fifties. That was a bit of experiential advice that I put…
A Road Map to Joy
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…
Terror and Beauty
I pause with reverence on the balcony of my hotel room in the Holy City. Across from me stands the New Gate, and my eyes follow Jerusalem’s ancient walls as far as I can see. The golden Dome of the Rock faintly gleams as dawn peaks its way up and over the horizon and walls….
Connection
Sheltered between two Rocky Mountain canyon walls, my husband and I ascend the steep hair-pinned road. A deep sense of belonging settles as we view the beauty in silence. We have left the city behind in hopes of the serenity of clear blue mountain lakes, pristine heights and slopes of evergreens and aspen, and most…
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…
The Tree in Winter
Lacy and austere at once–beautiful barren trees–winter’s mystique. Frost-covered branches, in winterland magic, play music when jiggled. There is promise in the tree, stripped of fruitfulness in winter’s glory. Winter’s splendor is best revealed in tree unrobed stark against the gray. Let the barren branch take root in bleak mystery–deep hides the new leaf. The…
Cloistered
Cloistered I barely see you across the green meadow, feeding, lingering in morning’s silvery misty veil and awaiting the sun’s bright clarity that brings sure revelation of up and downhill turnings. Day’s beginning and ending remain in mystery. Cloistered in daybreak’s sheltering haze, hidden but not hiding, you quiet your soul to rest and wait…
The next time you want to shake your fist at God…
It is essential in our walk with God to understand him as a consuming fire. Most consider our Creator and his acts toward humankind to center around judgment or discipline. That he is ever-watching from heaven to smash our plans or even our lives. But the consuming fire of the Holy One of Israel and…
Maybe
The holy mystery of Christmas is not hidden. It shouts in the streets like a vendor and blocks the highway like a barricade. It’s the crazy unexplainable that flashes with bright clarity for a second and collapses in the warm arms of hope that yearn for home. It’s the beauty of heaven that falls with…
Bonnie Saul Wilks 