Ash – Page 6 – S T R E A M S + T H O R N S

When It\’s Hard

“You’ll find that everythingis an emergency,” she said, almost mockingly. “There are other places that they can go for help, though. It’s best not to let people in your home. It needs to be your place to rest. In the villages, Indians aren’t allowed into the missionaries’ homes. They can meet with them other places,Continue reading “When It\’s Hard”

Beautiful

Their laughter carried through the walls of our wooden house as though I were in the same room with them. They didn’t know I could hear them or they probably would have stopped. They’re shy like that. I smiled. Just two weeks ago it wasn’t the sound of laughter that filled our home but theirContinue reading “Beautiful”

We Pray

I held her little five-month-old body and rocked her back and forth in the darkness of our spare bedroom, singing Amazing Grace and trying to comfort her while giving her sixteen year old mom a break to eat dinner and take a shower. Her body was hot with fever and her wheezing cough spoke loudlyContinue reading “We Pray”

This is real life, and it hurts.

This is uncomfortable, it is sad and it hurts. It is the kind of thing that makes a grown man cry – and it has. I have cried about it alone because the weight is unbearable. I saw pain in her eyes as she told me. I don’t think I had seen a broken heartContinue reading “This is real life, and it hurts.”

A Breakfast Visitor

“Who sleeps in this room?” our little breakfast visitor asked with intense curiosity. “That’s where Elliott and Raegan sleep,” I said, smiling at her sweet toothless grin. This was probably question number one hundred since she had come in less than thirty minutes prior. “They both sleep in here? Just the two of them?” SheContinue reading “A Breakfast Visitor”

When Dreams Die

“I think we know our answer, we just don’t want to admit it,” I said to him over lunch. “I think you’re right,” he confessed. We ate in silence for a while after that. There wasn’t a whole lot to say. That is what the moment was like when we finally laid to rest aContinue reading “When Dreams Die”

Five Minute Friday: Home

It\’s Friday again and that means I\’m linking up with Lisa-Jo for Five Minute Friday. Five minutes of writing from the heart. Go. I don’t know where it came from, but I remember it clearly, sitting on the wooden shelf behind the sofa in the house I spent some of my most formative days asContinue reading “Five Minute Friday: Home”

Some days my heart is full and there is plenty I want to say but I have no way to say it. That\’s when I just whisper to God, \”Hear my heart.\” And I rest in that. Because He does. \”The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, butContinue reading

We Aren\’t the Only Ones

\”I want to play iPad with Lita,\” he said from the backseat. \”That would be fun, wouldn\’t it?\” I said, trying to sound upbeat. \”Yeah,\” he was more somber this time. \”Because I\’m sad.\” He always puts the word \”because\” in front of his emotion. That\’s when my heart melts and I know things areContinue reading “We Aren\’t the Only Ones”

Five Minute Friday: Ordinary

Joining in again this week with Liso-Jo and Five Minute Friday. Five minutes of writing from the heart. This week\’s word is \”ordinary\”. Go. “It’s amazing what you guys are doing! I could never do that!” ‘We are so very, very ordinary,’ I think to myself each and every time I hear those words. \’IContinue reading “Five Minute Friday: Ordinary”