(Part 4 of 4 in the “Grief in a Season of Joy” series)
Why do we never enter
the dripping, wild woods
As the rain starts to fall?
We fear the wet, the mud
The fallen leaves’ decay
Never noticing the fragrance
of new life they exude.
In our concern for comfort
Our endless quest for beauty
We do not look in such a way
As to see the foundational
Workings of new life
Leaf litter on the damp clay
Fallen timber awash with rain Continue reading “Of Rainbows and Mud”
(Part 2 of 4 in the “Grief in a Season of Joy” series)
How long, O Lord, will we live in fear of Pain
Wary of being weighed down forever by it
I want to arrive in the city of Hope and dwell in Joy
But Pain will not be left behind while I journey
It clings to my legs, refusing to be forgotten,
And becomes a stumbling block Continue reading “Go in Peace”
In the interest of simplifying Advent, this week is a re-post of my favorite Advent blog from last year! Blessings to you as you find small ways to rest in this season.
“Oh no, for real?” I thought to myself as the band began to play. “Of all the Christmas songs, why this one? Can’t we sing “Oh Come Emmanuel” or something? This is a kid’s song…”
Despite my internal protests, the drums beat steadily, soon followed by the incessant refrain: “PA RUM PUM PUM PUM.”
And then I started to cry. Continue reading “God in all the Wrong Places”
I still remember the day
I first put on glasses
Everything looked so crisp and clear
But what I didn’t expect
Was the color
The way it jumped into my vision
The brightness of the clarity Continue reading “I Still Remember”
Walk with Me awhile, beloved
This is what I made you for
To feel the breeze upon your skin
And linger here at Glory’s door
Where every breath is peace inhaled
And heav’n itself but thinly veiled Continue reading “Walk With Me”
“Will I be OK?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the pool.
“Of course! Mommy and Gammy are right here!” To myself I thought, “Even on the bottom step the water would only reach your chest. Why is this such a big deal?”
We were swimming for the first time in a long time. He only came to watch his baby brother swim, but something in him still remembered the exhilaration of moving through the water. So, he consented to wear a swim suit, and then decided to put it on in advance. When we arrived, he put his feet straight in, bottom firmly planted on the side of the pool, kicking and splashing.
But now we were asking him to go all the way in.
“Will I be OK?” he asked again. Continue reading “On Being Present with Fear”
If I can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have a faith that can move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing…
Nothing but a drawing on a page
Flat, indifferent, unmoving
Forgetful of my missing dimension Continue reading “Isolation”
What do you call a man who has found a great treasure
and then left it in a ditch
to a catch a lift
when it didn’t fit in the backseat?
Do you call him
A madman?
An idiot?
Hell-bound?
Pitiable?
Or do you simply call him lost Continue reading “A Load Less Carried”
“Oh no, for real?” I thought to myself as the band began to play. “Of all the Christmas songs, why this one? Can’t we sing “Oh Come Emmanuel” or something? This is a kid’s song…”
Despite my internal protests, the drums beat steadily, soon followed by the incessant refrain: “PA RUM PUM PUM PUM.”
And then I started to cry. Continue reading “God in all the Wrong Places”
An expectant mood permeated the room. Seven men, all of them close friends of Jesus, sat waiting. Continue reading “In the Light of Dawn”
In Pursuit of More 