Story

poems are short

when written by me

a word here

a phrase there

pulling together to tell

a moment

to bring awareness 

a tiny story 

at this point in time

but Lord

how do I break through pain?

--it touches our lives

in so many ways

how does Your love

reach into this hurt

with healing?

Toby

grace in action 

flowing through the lines of cat

inquisitive yet confident 

exploring this world 

by leaps and purrs that demand 

cuddles in real time

Bill Bonk

the oldest son

to a family new to Canada

who learned English at school 

this second child of four

grew up close to the land

working hard on the farm

a young man in love

built a house of brick for them

and four little growing ones

a mature man traveling 

by wheels and books

reading wider and farther than even his travels

a retired man 

and caregiver until after a 50th anniversary 

finding time to walk an hour at a time

Dad

drowsy

until all is sleep

yet test after test takes him away

in search of 'why?'

Dad

why the shut down?

are good-byes coming soon?

Ruth Blazes

The man of valour responded 

To the woman of valour

As the baton got passed to the

Kinsman redeemer

He took the problem to the city gate

For resolution

Since there was a potential kinsman redeemer

Closer to the family

But once he knew the steep cost involved

He withdrew from redeeming the land

So Boaz married Ruth

And we think, 'Oh a romance!'

And miss God's contribution

To this holy endeavour

Raised through partnership

When Ruth, the barren widow no more,

Gave birth to a boy

Who she puts into the arms of Naomi

Leaving the curtain to close

On an exclamation,

"Naomi has a son

Ruth Again

Naomi was facing hunger and poverty

As a barren widow in Bethlehem

But Ruth stepped in to fill

The emptiness 

Gleaning became a way to find food

But it would be so little

So Ruth asked Boaz for permission

To work among the harvesters

Rather than the gleaners

His acceptance 

Sent food from the field

And food from the table home for Naomi

In bountiful amounts--

Naomi's joy in God

Began to emerge

As the emptiness began to fill

And soon Naomi noticed Ruth

Recognized her as a foreigner in Israel 

And wanted to find a home for her

A place of protection 

In a land where Moabites were distrusted

Naomi hatched a plan

To get Ruth married

In a time and place where widowhood and barrenness 

Meant misery and hardship 

But Ruth wouldn't leave Naomi behind

She'd accept a husband

Only if the result would elevate Naomi

From emptiness 

And so she must know

Would Boaz partner with her

In a scheme to return Naomi's land

To being a place of bread?

Ruth Begins

Ruth joined the family

The family of the visitors from Bethlehem

The strangers who arrived with stories

Of famine from the City of Bread

Ruth joined the family

When she married a son

And a new rhythm of life began

As she learned of new ways

And a new God

A God of love and miracles and rescue

And yet the sadness continued

As husband after husband after husband

Died

Leaving

Naomi, Orpah and Ruth 

Alone with Naomi's God

Then news of bread arrived

And Naomi packed to go home

She began her travels with two daughters

In tow

But why take them to more sadness

So she sent them to their fathers' homes

To find new husbands and old gods

Only Ruth refused

An old god

She strengthened her ties to Naomi and

This new God and threw herself

Into His hands with a fervent trust

Leaving them to travel on together

To Bethlehem

Where the barley harvest had begun

Arrival meant a new busyness for Ruth

As Naomi announced her emptiness

With a new name--Mara

And bitterness arrived at her old home

Without the comfort of husband or sons

Changes

Changes

And the possibility for change

Are always with us

And yet it catches me by surprise so often

As I live in this breath

And not yet the next

Lord, You warn us of some things to be

And yet there is much You leave a surprise

As I embrace this joy called life

Summer of Learning

A summer of learning

(But what am I learning?)

Instagram

Twitter

Watching others set up a website

Questioning

How?

Why?

What should we be doing?

(So really--what am I learning?)

Even as I write

A little bit each morning

Getting ready to tackle a website

Of my own

To learn how it works

How it pulls together

Into a finished product

Expressing a group or a person

For the community to see

Stories

Stories bubble up

From the depths of the Bible

Stories of people following the Lord

And finding freedom

Stories are found in the most unexpected places 

As the gospel moves out

Into the lives of real people

Willing to embrace the freedom found in God

And so a Samaritan woman 

Tells the good news to the people

Of Sychar, her city

And a band of brothers

Answer a call to Macedonia

Where they meet a band of sisters

By the river in Philippi

Ready to answer the call to believe

And to work in utter freedom

In the kingdom of God

Stories bubble up

And we see more of our Father's heart

Words

It's all so tentative 

This putting words on paper

To take a story of worth and power

And find the words that will convey it

With grace

Our Lord came to earth

With an end in mind

And his purpose was achieved 

So now we go and tell

All who will hear

With whatever words

Share this truth

Let Me Tell You a Love Story

A man on a journey who stops at a well

Where he meets a woman

Equals a love story

This plot saw Isaac married to Rebekah

Even though Isaac never visited that well

This plot saw Jacob married to Rachel

And this plot saw Moses married to Zipporah

A love story to make the little ones giggle

And the older ones settle in to listen

The motif is trusted

For it takes us back to our roots

To our ancestors

Even for every one of us in the church

These are our roots

A traveling man, a well and a woman

Equals a love story of profound importance

And so a day came when Jesus was traveling

From Galilee in the north

To Judea in the south

And he had to pass through Samaria

He and his disciples arrived at Sychar

While his disciples went into town

To find food

Jesus rested by the well

In the heat of the day

For he was tired and

The well was a quiet place

Until a woman came along for water

And found a traveler 

But wait, that's the signal for a love story

A love story

Don't you remember who this woman is

She has had five husbands

And her present man isn't married to her

This cannot be a love story!

And yet as she came to the well

Jesus spoke to her asking for a drink of water

Water

That sparkling, glittering liquid 

That quenches thirst

Will you give me some water?

Why are you speaking to me?

If you asked me, I could give you living water

And you'd never be thirsty again

But you have nothing with which to get 

The water

But I give living water

With it you would never thirst again

Their conversation moved onto worship

And she learned of worship

In spirit and in truth

Then she learned of the Messiah

That he was there with her

And through it all

One truth radiated out for her

God loved her

And that truth grew into hope

God loved her and her people

And that grew into joy

So she went back to the city

To bring them to Jesus 

That everyone could be a part of

This greatest love story 

Of all time

Stories

Short stories

Family stories

Stories to help a little girl read

Simple stories

Adventure stories

Taking us out on the wind and waves

Sing

Ready to sing this weekend!

Once at church

Once at a wedding if they do a concert

Somehow the time is right

To be prepared for this

Changes

An introvert with the extrovert

Leads to needing to find time alone

For the quiet one

And so the extrovert has been going 

To a seniors club

A few times per week

To spend time with others doing fun things

And one result

Has been his blood pressure coming down

And his medication being discontinued

For just over a month now

What other changes will this change lead to?

Love With You, Lord

Love sparkles in the moment

When a walk with You is embraced

And timing proves delightful

When the details are trusted to You

Wedding Season

A celebration of passage

From childhood into adulthood

With the acceptance of all the 

Responsibilities

That go with

Learning to work as a team and family

And yet room for love

And joy

To match the perseverance

And forgiveness

That mark the path of life together

Now

To be busy learning is amazing

But sometimes it's such a challenge

To figure out what to focus on

But my summer projects seem to be in place

As I help with a website,

Turn stories into songs

And continue writing a children's book

It's funny how life seems so slow

And yet by the end of the week 

Things have been accomplished

And so life continues

Moment by moment

In a lovely bit of now

Juggling

I've never actually learned

To juggle things

To toss one at a time into the air

And then to catch them just long enough 

To redirect them up again

But for it to work there must be no panic

Instead a rhythm must be found

That propels each piece to move 

In its pattern as its needed

While still being ready to respond to

The next piece approaching