Yes, I’ll journey with you to Skull Hill in springtime, the hyacinths dripping of perfume and the lily blazing purity in the flooding sunshine of noonday. I’m frail and naked and ashamed— beaten and exposed to my bone’s marrow, but I will go with you. I’ll fall upon you in the river of crimson that…
Tag: writers
Pause to Peer
I will never tire of hearing, “Look, Marmee, a butterfly!” My grandchildren, Vivie and Emmett, shriek with joy when one flies close or lands nearby. Their curiosity intensifies in the presence of this fanciful winged being, and their wonder sparks! And you know what? You don’t need to be a child to love these illusive…
Wintering Winter
The Tree in Winter The winter, barren branch, firmly rooted, standing stark against a scarlet-stained sky has long been one of my favorite metaphors for life. I have spent close to 50 winters contemplating its beauty and message. In every testing period of my life, its sermon of hope becomes my winter song of making…
Gleam
Millions of pinholes twinkle across a midnight sky, a bubbly mountain river shimmers in sunlight as it flows to the sea, sand glistens through the water at the ocean shore, bright eyes gleam from a distant playground, and a smoldering ember glows red hot to the end. A small thing it is not…to shine, to…
Second Chances
The only thing better than a second chance is a third or fourth chance! New, unpacked opportunities pave the way for dozens of tight, pink buds on an ancient tree called hope, called second chances. That’s what the new year offers. I’m beginning my 73rd “second chance” by starting fresh in the year of our…
Proclamation
The black earth that swallowed the acorn, and the seed that died and split open. The tender sapling that shivered to rise, and the tree that towered above the house to touch the clouds. The roots that bore deep below the sand and rock, and the verdant leaves that waved with the wind. The veins…
Searching for the Light Switch
This is part 2 from the post below, “See Jesus in the Flames.” Update on Julia…Thank you so much for your prayers. We got the biopsy report that Julia did have renal cell carcinoma as the doctors suspected, but it was stage 2 and grade 2. Stage 2 is because of the size (8.5 cm,…
Blurred Words
Tonight I blurred my words and remembered you, fondly. Sometimes when you blur your words with a friend—it heals your soul, and you know you’re not alone. You are not alone. The vagueness of life demands analgesic, and sharing of vulnerabilities leaves the sweetest taste. In the braided arms of convivial moments and beloved friends…
Unmerited
To spurn all of this— To credit no one for the systematic order and glory of the universe—that He spoke into existence by the breath of a Word, conceived by the sharp-edge of wit, unmatched, cared for by the extravagant heart of a benevolent Father, and held together by the surge and swell of unbending…
One Nod
In time, you stop gathering things and begin to collect moments. You learn to draw a deep furrowed line in the world to hedge off the chaos and begin to measure life by the wealth of blessing without sorrow and suffering that has spurned evil for good. At long last, you cease competition and cleave…