Tag: hope

The Morning After
God, Hope, Life, Nature, Outdoors, Perspective

The Morning After

She took a long, slow drag off one of her favorite cigarettes as he caressed her hand, both of them lost forever in the moment now fading into their past. They’d waited for this day as if it had been 100 years. Made the arrangements. Devised excuses for skipping out on work. They’d picked a location far from their hometown, where nobody would recognize them in the band of darkness that some would say straddles a thin line, but to them it would be plenty wide to satisfy their curiosity. She had wondered whether she’d feel bliss—or regret—after the rendezvous. And now she knew. It was over. She was already thinking about the next one. It was, as they say, nothing short of spectacular. Continue reading “The Morning After”

Prepare to Fly
Holidays, Hope, Intentional Living, Life, New Year's

Prepare to Fly

It held such a wonderful view from high above—until it crashed.

Out of hundreds of acres of surrounding farmland, the brand new and quite expensive drone of one of our family members bee-lined toward the only body of water on the property. The small aircraft had lost its ability to maneuver, and on Thanksgiving Day, 2014, it went down, plunging to the bottom of a one acre lake.

And there it spent the entire year of 2015, buried alive, in the mud. Continue reading “Prepare to Fly”

It’s A Wonderful Life
Christmas, Family, Holidays, Hope, Life, Perspective

It’s A Wonderful Life

When you read those words you are likely either nodding in agreement or shaking your head. It’s a wonderful life. Yes, it is. Or, no, it isn’t.

If you haven’t seen the Hollywood classic, you might presume it’s the image of the picture perfect family. Dad grinning wide at his children in front of the Christmas tree. Mom gazing with love and admiration into his eyes. Children who can do no wrong. It’s what we want everyone to see. It’s how we wish life would be. And life is… Continue reading “It’s A Wonderful Life”

Green Leaf Bug
Hope, Nature, Perspective

Green Leaf Bug

I was sipping coffee outside when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a leaf stuck between the deck slats, waving with the morning breeze. It was colored an extraordinarily rich green, a contrast from the spectrum of autumn browns, yellows, and oranges. A closer look revealed a True Katydid, a.k.a., a green leaf bug.

I figured it was dead. Temperatures had dropped into the 40’s that night. With my slippered feet I tapped it onto its side. It’s legs pedaled slowly into empty air.

I picked it up. It’s tiny eyes stared at me with helpless abandon. Continue reading “Green Leaf Bug”

Crazy People Who Speak with Their Eyes Closed
Faith, God, Prayer

Crazy People Who Speak with Their Eyes Closed

I saw him approaching out of the corner of my eye as I sat on a park bench. The well-shaded grounds of the State Hospital is a spot frequented by local office dwellers escaping for quiet lunches on warm summer days, and that’s what I was doing there. But that’s not what he was doing there. The thirty-something year-old looked around nervously and asked if he could sit down.

Psychiatric patients at the hospital can receive permission to stroll outside during the day, but they’re not allowed to talk to the public. I knew this, and reluctantly I motioned him to sit.

His story was a bit shocking, but I didn’t flinch. Apparently I was the first person in the park who didn’t walk away from him, especially “after they found out I was gay,” he said. Continue reading “Crazy People Who Speak with Their Eyes Closed”

Polka Dot Wonder
Hope

Polka Dot Wonder

Clumsily the polka dot wonder pranced through the brush, breaking sticks under its toddler feet and drawing so much attention within a quarter mile that it might as well have worn a blaze orange sign with the words “Eat Me.” Don’t you know there’s a coyote pack roamin’ these parts, little podna? I thought.

Usually it walked the fields with its twin sibling, and usually its mother was nearby. Not today.

There was more shuffling. The bushes along the fence row shook one after the other, like a sloppy version of “the wave” in a stadium crowd. I stayed in my seat as to not alert of my presence.

Where are they? I surveyed the yard and neighboring woods for momma and sister, thinking the worst. The coyote howls had drawn closer to the house the past few nights. Continue reading “Polka Dot Wonder”