Striving and Seeds

I read these words while sitting among remains of dying lilac blooms, but with the rest of summer on the cusp of its wild verdant growth: “Glorifying and enjoying Me is a higher priority than maintaining a tidy, structured life. Give up your striving to keep...

Beside the Fire

A neighbor brings over a small mint plant (it’s growing like a weed in her yard) and asks if I would like it. I imagine the taste of sweet mint sun-tea in the summer and homemade mint chutney, and I graciously accept. I had wanted mint, but she couldn’t...

The Hope of Burying Bulbs

They ask me for tulips. Large brown eager eyes await my answer. How can I say no? The day is not so cold, and this may be our last chance to plant. “Which colors?” I ask. “Red,” says one. “Pink,” says another, “and...

Drifting Camellia

A plane carries me hundreds of miles, flying faster than a bird, to my home. I had to fly to get there, nearly a thousand miles away. When I walk off the plane and into the airport, I hear the voices. It’s the southern accent I grew up listening to, like a sweet...

A Summer Night Dance

On a breezy summer evening, I find a spot to watch them. A full orchestra has come together for a free concert outdoors. In the midst of concrete sidewalks, restaurants, and the expansive town center/shopping mall around this stage area, I find a section of green...

Faith (a poem)

I haven’t seen the wind But I know it blows I haven’t seen His face But His beauty shows – Trees sway by invisible hands My heart moves by invisible strands of red threads connected by miles of pulsing hope, and hands unseen cradle my soul – I follow the...