'Til Kingdom Come

    The soft sigh escaped her mouth as one, then two swollen feet gently slipped into the stream’s edge. She closed her eyes. Quieting herself in the cool of the water and the sun trapped heat of the rock upon which she rested. Each a comfort to her aching body. She took a few deep breaths and soaked in each.     Joyfully breaking the stillness her eyelids fluttered open to the sound of her children spilling into the stream. She made the tired chuckle all too familiar to a mother. “There goes peace, but there my delight.” Her eyes softened in a smile as she watched her young sons and daughter stumble and dance into the water. Their laughter like the sparkling drops filling the air.     A soft, warm smile painted her face as she placed her hand on her womb. She felt the jubilee of Elohim’s blessing inside her, anxious to join their siblings. Her heart stirred. She could hardly remember life before her children. A life without the sleepless anxieties or ...

A very short story, inspired by a writing prompt. Drawn I was convinced she was the antithesis of my muse. In all my artistic forms. Written or sketched. There I would be, sharp and focused. Creating. Then she would come and undo me. Making me second guess myself. Were we not supposed to be one? Why did she seem to stand against everything I represented? Didn’t she see how hard I worked? How meticulously I made each line; wrote each word? I gave myself to my work. Giving all that I was.  Only later did I see how much of herself she gave as well. I wore her down. The harder I pressed on the more she had to absorb. Did I not see how gentle, how softly she came to correct and inspire. So often it seemed we were going in opposite directions. Time carved us down. As all things. The river to canyon. The bone to dust. Then, in an ordinary moment. I paused. Examined. I had been so distracted, caught up in myself, I did not realize how close we had become. It had happen...

I LOVE Coldplay. Their music over the years continues time and time again to resonate deeply with me. I have a lot of respect for the way they conduct themselves as a band and once I saw them in concert I was done for. Sadly what this lead to was me questioning if I was making the band an idol in my life. Over and over again God declares that he alone is to be worshiped above all else. The second commandment is that we shall have no other gods before Him. I worried that I was too obsessed with Coldplay. I feared listening to them too much. I don't think that this was irrational. I am committed to loving God above all else and know that my greatest joys, peace and needs can only be satisfied in Him. I go through this same line of thinking when I start desiring cars, nice houses, reckless freedom, money, etc. But then, as my sad little heart is reminded often, God surprised and blessed me in ways I would never have dreamed. In May of 2012 I had the opportunity to go to th...

I work at a church and a few weeks ago we were the victims of a tagger. In three places these lovely initials were sprayed on two of our parking lot lights and this retaining wall where all the water drains from our lot. The two on the cement bases for the lights came off fairly easily with a special cleaner and a lot of scrubbing. Did I mention it was over 100* the day I had to clean these. When I got to this final graffiti I sprayed and sprayed, and scrubbed and scrubbed with a steel brush. I have tried on two more occasions to get this stain off the stone bricks and if you come by the church it will still look like this. I am currently trying to team up with someone to get a sand blaster and hopefully get this removed. While I was drenched in sweat and striving to erase this mark I was reminded of a deep truth. This stain is as stubborn as my sin. My life, my heart, my soul are covered in the marring of disobedience and foolishness. Despite my greatest efforts, the sweat on ...

Snip, snip, snip. Every sign of beauty and color torn away. The growth of the past year reduced to a jagged stub. What once was a thriving life seems nothing more than the skeletal frame of abandoned promise. I have trouble discerning the pruning shears from the ax at the root of the tree. Is this the discipline of my Father? The careful, wise trimming of a loving Gardener. Often I fear that it is the punishment of a Holy Judge. One sin too many. The final test of a fruitless tree. The righteous wrath to bear down on my stubborn neck. But I stop. The slippery lies. The panicked doubts. Who am I to say that the power of Christ blood has reached it's high tide and I find myself dry on a sandy shore. His redeeming love shall come this far but no further. The audacity. His atonement is an raging tsunami that over takes the swiftest runner and the strongest grip clutching earthen security. It overcomes, it overwhelms. It drowns me in a bed of...

My church is reading through the Bible this year. At the end of a section of books we have a reflection service. Last night we had a service for the historical books of the old testament. The focus was on the life of David. Several of us in the church were asked to select people in David's life and write an account from their perspective. I chose Jonathan, the son of Saul. This is the piece that I prepared. Mephibosheth, my young lion, my son. I pray this letter finds you well in these troubled times. We are on the eve of battle and my mind is swarming with thoughts and questions that rob me of sleep. I wander our encampment here at Gilboa. My eyes search the heavens for a sense of hope or peace, yet only cold distant stars stare silently back. Mirroring them are the flickering fires of the Philistines across the valley. Burning into the night, into my heart. I wish the Lord would out stretch his hand and brush them from the hillside like dust. In my youth it was the thrill of...