September. Back to school. My first experience with school was when I was five. There was no kindergarten where we lived, and so my mom, being my mom and the mother of seven children, pushed to have me put in grade one. As a result, I found myself on a hard, cold seat in a … Continue reading Schoolyard Angst
I was struggling, and sleep eluded me. My mind was whirling with the scenario on repeat in my brain. My insides were in knots, and a heaviness sat on my chest. I felt misunderstood, hurt, and unloved. Sinful thoughts and desires rose up in my heart for self-glory and justification. I knew my thoughts and … Continue reading Perfect Power
Are you a wallflower that longs to be more? Is God calling you to be a wallflower who steps out in faith? Are you willing to be the flower that God has called you to be, designed you to be, a greenhouse flower? Most of my life I have lived as a wallflower and still … Continue reading Wallflower or Showpiece?
Eagerly, I climbed to the top of our station wagon roof, placing the item my stepfather had given me in a secure spot. Hot sun shone down, but the metal felt comfortably warm against my skin. Giddiness bubbled up inside me as I gazed around at the green trees gently tossed by the breeze and … Continue reading Adventure or Danger?
A few weeks ago, I wrote about envisioning and touching a homeless person. Imagine with me, meeting a homeless man or woman. Their hair is matted and filthy. Lice are crawling through it and onto their forehead. Their clothes smell of feces and urine. Sores are evident on their grime-covered skin and you are sure … Continue reading Transference 2
Imagine with me, meeting a homeless man or woman. Matted, filthy hair covers their head. Lice are crawling through it and onto their forehead. The odour of feces and urine emanates from their tattered clothing. Open, oozing sores are evident on their grime-covered skin and you are sure they carry something contagious. Flies crawl across … Continue reading Transference
What is your perspective? From the passenger seat of our car, a field of golden-coloured corn stalks caught my attention. Brightly standing out against the dark grey clouds hovering over them, I commented about their beauty to my husband. He, however, had focused on the threatening clouds and not noticed the cornstalks. Where our eyes … Continue reading Golden Stalks or Dark Clouds?
Life goes on. The pain eases slightly with time. The days feel normal and we get busy with them. Then certain things remind us, like a date, the day they left. Emotions and memories, forgotten in the day-to-day, flood our hearts and minds and the pain returns; we feel the loss again. In this pain … Continue reading Remember Me
Our family has just gone through an extended period of gift-giving. Over the past three weeks, we have celebrated four birthdays and Christmas. All that baking and wrapping has worn my fingers out. We feasted and gave lots of splendid gifts to each other with smiles, exclamations and lit-up faces. What is the greatest gift … Continue reading Greatest Gift
January. It is the renowned month of fresh starts, new resolutions, hopes and dreams. My January started with the making of one birthday cake and two more looming on the horizon, our television seizing up and watching our firstborn drive off to his home, eight hours away. While these things are not terrible, they are … Continue reading Fresh Starts, New Starts