Monday, May 26, 2008

Cloud Cover

It is dark;
yet I hear crickets...
and birds...
moving tires...
and honking horns...
There is life and activity
somewhere ahead.
I breathe in
and I breathe out.
Words and images float
and land vicariously into my mind;
carrying in with them fresh wind,
fragrant fruit and flowers,
...and the scent of print...
joy springs up out of the corner
to suprise and refresh;
arriving and ushering me into
the courts of the pleasant...

Monday, May 5, 2008

Stars in the Headlights Part 3

"I'm just finishing up the paperwork!" she yelled through the bathroom door. Ella was trying not to imagine what the two were up to on the other side of the world. As long as it didn't involve fire or a trip to the emergency room it was all good. It was Monday morning again. That day of the week that was faithful to come; and stayed past the welcome period. It was a day that the Lord had made for His glory; but down here on earth it often brought a level of stress with it.

Nathan was ready for school. His sister was doing her thing: eating. It was a fresh day with few mistakes in it. One day at a time was all she could handle. The thoughts of the days ahead and the challenges therein swirled around in her head. Mercy enabled her to jump back into the present and hang on to the moment. Just for this day, she could make it from point a to point b.

She took refuge in making plans for the future. The best case scenario was at least a few years away from fruition. Still, the mental meanderings fueled a level of hope that came and went as the passing of the clouds. God would have to make a way for her to make something happen. Were her ideas seeds for future growth? How much of her planning was truly inspiration or padding for her bruised ego? Of course, whatever God wanted was the best plan of all. The question was insistent on resurfacing: "What would Jesus have me do?"

Her reverie was punctured as soon as she saw the state of the kitchen. Fire #2 was on the kitchen counter perusing the cupboards for some more breakfast. She couldn't possibly still be hungry; it would have been physically impossible. A flash prayer rose up to heaven from her lips as she sped towards the corner of the room where the preschool terror was on the loose. "Lord, sustain me!"