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Wishing Well
Holly, skates and tinseled tree – Snowflakes and a sleigh, Whispers from the carols past, And time that’s flown away… The heart within me falters At remembrances so clear. Snapshots in my memory banks, Framed inside a tear. Today the ashes on the hearth, From fires’ scarves that waved, The embers in this soul of mine Lean on the One who saves. So even as I toss my dreams Into life’s wishing well – I know my heart is being held By my Emmanuel. – RG
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Perspectives
I was thinking about how Jesus walked with friends while He was on earth. Together, the somewhat disreputable band walked for countless miles, fished, saw miracles and learned a lot. They thought they knew Him. They probably thought the miracles they had seen were the pinnacle for this itinerant preacher. Toward the end of His time on earth, Jesus knew His destination. The Bible says, “After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, ‘Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.’ His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the…
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Thankful
I remember what it was like before – before I began to understand God’s love. It was a restless, driven, searching time. Many days were interesting and lively yet in the end, unfulfilling. Thankfully, now it is different. Today, years have passed. Some good, some challenging. There are people who are part of the fabric of my life who are no longer here. Yes, I miss them. You might think it could be a melancholy time. It isn’t. Sure, I’ve had those days. Times when I make the dreadful mistake of comparing my life to some cultural “norm” – that is so unhelpful! All those kinds of comparisons tend to…
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Learning Up
It’s cloudy and the winds are shifting today. You can feel it when you walk outside. The clouds are acrobats of grey tumbling overhead. You can almost feel the northern winds approaching, even though the temperatures are mild just now. Also today I’ve been thinking about the sovereignty of God. With our world and culture in such a state of agitation, one almost can’t help but wonder what is next. It seems, like the skies above, our very world is in a chaotic time of change. I remember when I was in Music School, they told us in times of social and cultural revolution, the music also changed dramatically. It…
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Hope…Realized!
Have you ever prayed for something or someone? I mean, really prayed? Sometimes our prayer is answered right away…other times, there may be a big quiet. Quiet. It can be discouraging. Quiet. It can be off-putting. Quiet can make a person doubt. So – do you quit? Do you stop praying? Do you give up because the outcome isn’t apparent? NO. Ross Parsley (my pastor) is quoted as saying, “We don’t believe in an outcome, we believe in a Person…” Which brings me to the rest of this post. About 25 years ago (more or less) I prayed for someone HARD. Every day. All the time. For some reason this…
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Sweet Memories & Missing
It’s been almost a year since Mom has been gone. In some ways I can hardly believe it. In others, it seems like ages – too long – since we talked. I thought I was “prepared”. I mean, after losing one parent, you should know the drill, right? Not so much. Maybe it’s because the seasons are changing, and that has brought these feelings into sharp relief. I simply don’t know. What I do know is that every day I still miss them. Papa has been gone now for 14 years. That’s even harder to believe. There are so many inconsequential things I wish I could talk with them about…
