tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88786416790042866002024-03-13T13:52:59.524-07:00Here I am, this is me!Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-58210213237020153872021-10-09T04:57:00.000-07:002021-10-09T04:57:16.480-07:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QoH66fGjQa0/YWF_HYOgmFI/AAAAAAAAA1M/DLcvYkWPxHgrV4DXNdyWpMgMHMgFlDO6gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/DSC05797.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1277" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QoH66fGjQa0/YWF_HYOgmFI/AAAAAAAAA1M/DLcvYkWPxHgrV4DXNdyWpMgMHMgFlDO6gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC05797.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>THIRTEEN</b></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">This newly-minted teen is blessed with the surety that she holds all the keys to the universe and the stubbornness to try them all in the lock rather than believe anyone who tells her which one opens a particular lock. She is becoming adept at questioning the boundaries before pushing up against them to see if they will hold. Her mouth is still more likely to smile than disrespect. Her eyes more familiar with creasing in laughter than filling with tears; they sparkle with a newly developing sense of self and twinkle with a secret future. Not yet tested or broken, her heart beats to the rhythm of her violin, her flute, or her voice. She is exactly what we hoped she would be wrapped up in all the surprises we didn’t expect. </span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Happy Birthday Athena,</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">your laughter remains the most beautiful music you offer this world.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-30403578545244854132021-08-11T19:27:00.004-07:002021-08-11T19:34:44.947-07:00<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<br /><h2 style="text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iygGD0Wjtac/YRSFRY5dOBI/AAAAAAAAA0s/GdO8a0GOZEAjQaJiRpbm8aChpxrFN68qACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_5414.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1693" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iygGD0Wjtac/YRSFRY5dOBI/AAAAAAAAA0s/GdO8a0GOZEAjQaJiRpbm8aChpxrFN68qACLcBGAsYHQ/w530-h640/IMG_5414.heic" width="530" /></a></div></h2>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: black; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span>Day by Day</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One by one (sometimes by two)</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">my leaves change </span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">and </span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">so do you</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">not all at once </span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">as often prayed</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">but day </span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">by day </span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">by day </span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">by day</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">by God my God </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">and God alone</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">who sits upon His heavenly throne</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">one by one my leaves will fall</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">until I’ve lost them </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">one and all</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ll stand naked in the wind</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">and catch the snow when it begins</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">look! already you can see</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">my leaves preparing to leave me</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">it’s August yet the signs are there</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">the change of life is in the air</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">the nights no longer hold the heat</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">seasons are set on looped-repeat</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">give no thought dear have no care</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">enjoy my foliage while it’s there</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">just like I”m changing, </span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">so are you</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">by God my God makes you anew</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">my leaves, your sins He takes away</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">day by </span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">day by </span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">day by </span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">day</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">like me you’ll stand there in the wind</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">stripped bare admit it! You have sinned!</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">you’ll bow your limbs against the cold</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">onto your knee you’ll bend and fold</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">like me you’ll yield your will to His</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">there is no other way than this</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">until you’re more like Him than not</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">’til nakedness is all you’ve got</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">then he’ll clothe you as He does</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">with grace and faith and hope and love</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">then the fruits will start to bud</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">from underneath the dirt and crud</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">not all at once but one by one</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">that’s how our Saviour’s work is done.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span>
- Vera Patterson</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: black; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-3834172189572234472021-08-01T06:35:00.012-07:002021-08-01T07:33:52.081-07:00<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">Mama’s Children</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Bleary-eyed Mama peels </div><div style="text-align: center;">creased cheek from </div><div style="text-align: center;">tear-soaked pillow</div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">simultaneously shushing the child </div></span><div style="text-align: center;">inside and outside herself until </div><div style="text-align: center;">one of them is satiated by the breast</div><div style="text-align: center;">she empties</div><div style="text-align: center;">into its eager mouth </div><div style="text-align: center;">all the while</div><div style="text-align: center;">wishing there was</div><div style="text-align: center;">someone </div><div style="text-align: center;">from whom she could</div><div style="text-align: center;">make lusty demands </div><div style="text-align: center;">Because</div><div style="text-align: center;">like baby </div><div style="text-align: center;">Mama needs someone </div><div style="text-align: center;">she can</div><div style="text-align: center;">trust</div><div style="text-align: center;">to nourish her.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mama traces circles gently</div><div style="text-align: center;">on her baby’s</div><div style="text-align: center;">back</div><div style="text-align: center;">until bubbles of</div><div style="text-align: center;">air come up</div><div style="text-align: center;">and out</div><div style="text-align: center;">all the while</div><div style="text-align: center;">wishing there was </div><div style="text-align: center;">someone</div><div style="text-align: center;">to coax the painful things</div><div style="text-align: center;">secretly hidden</div><div style="text-align: center;">deep within</div><div style="text-align: center;">her</div><div style="text-align: center;">into the open so the</div><div style="text-align: center;">discomfort she lives</div><div style="text-align: center;">with can be</div><div style="text-align: center;">released.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mama shifts her baby</div><div style="text-align: center;">kissing</div><div style="text-align: center;">the tender head</div><div style="text-align: center;">wishing there was</div><div style="text-align: center;">someone</div><div style="text-align: center;">she could reveal all the soft</div><div style="text-align: center;">vulnerable places of herself</div><div style="text-align: center;">to</div><div style="text-align: center;">knowing <i>that</i> someone would</div><div style="text-align: center;">love her more for knowing</div><div style="text-align: center;">Mama needs extra care in</div><div style="text-align: center;">the places</div><div style="text-align: center;"> where she isn’t finished</div><div style="text-align: center;">yet.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mama opens the diaper</div><div style="text-align: center;">wrinkling her nose</div><div style="text-align: center;">at the smell</div><div style="text-align: center;">yet wishing there was</div><div style="text-align: center;">someone</div><div style="text-align: center;">who acknowledged </div><div style="text-align: center;">but didn’t turn away</div><div style="text-align: center;">or shame her for</div><div style="text-align: center;">the less pleasant parts</div><div style="text-align: center;">of her</div><div style="text-align: center;">that need</div><div style="text-align: center;">to be wiped clean, aired out, </div><div style="text-align: center;">changed.</div><div style="text-align: center;">and like Mama</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>that</i> someone would have to </div><div style="text-align: center;">do it again and again</div><div style="text-align: center;">until she</div><div style="text-align: center;">grows.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mama wraps her baby </div><div style="text-align: center;">tightly</div><div style="text-align: center;">wishing there was</div><div style="text-align: center;">someone</div><div style="text-align: center;">with whom she could</div><div style="text-align: center;">feel warm,</div><div style="text-align: center;">secure, loved</div><div style="text-align: center;">and</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>that</i> someone</div><div style="text-align: center;">would keep her safe</div><div style="text-align: center;">Because</div><div style="text-align: center;">like baby Mama feels</div><div style="text-align: center;">scared and alone</div><div style="text-align: center;">sometimes.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mama moves slow</div><div style="text-align: center;">through the house </div><div style="text-align: center;">silent</div><div style="text-align: center;">mentally calculating</div><div style="text-align: center;">when baby will need her next</div><div style="text-align: center;">until</div><div style="text-align: center;">the child she pushed aside</div><div style="text-align: center;">inside begins to</div><div style="text-align: center;">whimper.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Mama falls </div><div style="text-align: center;">on the dry pillow</div><div style="text-align: center;">and allows the child to </div><div style="text-align: center;">wet it again.</div></div><p style="text-align: center;">- Vera Patterson</p>Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-13119949172477697432021-07-25T21:16:00.004-07:002021-07-25T21:16:27.180-07:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VuB1Wo3RvUs/YP42fnRLTiI/AAAAAAAAA0E/O-Ix119vf5UKiBaMe54Aw0D8qObaOIX-gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/DSC04898.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1361" data-original-width="2048" height="234" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VuB1Wo3RvUs/YP42fnRLTiI/AAAAAAAAA0E/O-Ix119vf5UKiBaMe54Aw0D8qObaOIX-gCLcBGAsYHQ/w352-h234/DSC04898.jpeg" width="352" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">STOKED</div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">My feet have strayed </div><div style="text-align: center;">from hallowed ground</div><div><div style="text-align: center;">the flames are closing</div><div style="text-align: center;">all around</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I need you Lord</div><div style="text-align: center;">yes I believe</div><div style="text-align: center;">that I have sinned</div><div style="text-align: center;">I was deceived</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I wanted something</div><div style="text-align: center;">not of you</div><div style="text-align: center;">as often we</div><div style="text-align: center;">mere mortals do</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I run around</div><div style="text-align: center;">I scream and shout</div><div style="text-align: center;">But find there is just</div><div style="text-align: center;">no way out</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I seek Your face</div><div style="text-align: center;">and You appear</div><div style="text-align: center;">to whisper sweetly</div><div style="text-align: center;">in my ear</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Hold My hand child</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>though you strayed</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>I’m with you now</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>I am the way</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;">In the fire</div><div style="text-align: center;">You are here</div><div style="text-align: center;">You walk so close</div><div style="text-align: center;">You draw me near</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">You tug my hand</div><div style="text-align: center;">say <i>Walk on child</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>neither flame</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>nor heat is wild</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">You’re in control</div><div style="text-align: center;">of what it burns</div><div style="text-align: center;">eternal life is</div><div style="text-align: center;">Your concern</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">You are the refuge</div><div style="text-align: center;">from the heat</div><div style="text-align: center;">in this furnace</div><div style="text-align: center;">where we meet</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">You are the refuge</div><div style="text-align: center;">from the flame</div><div style="text-align: center;">there is no need</div><div style="text-align: center;">to search in vain</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">You are the one</div><div style="text-align: center;">Who’ll see me through</div><div style="text-align: center;">if I just keep</div><div style="text-align: center;">my eyes on You</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I will not fail</div><div style="text-align: center;">to persevere</div><div style="text-align: center;">draw closer Lord</div><div style="text-align: center;">and I’ll not fear</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">You are the refuge</div><div style="text-align: center;">that I seek</div><div style="text-align: center;">Because my heart and </div><div style="text-align: center;">flesh are weak</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">In these flames</div><div style="text-align: center;">I start to sweat</div><div style="text-align: center;">my story</div><div style="text-align: center;">isn’t over yet</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">My God, My Lord</div><div style="text-align: center;">He overcame</div><div style="text-align: center;">so build a fire</div><div style="text-align: center;">stoke the flame</div><div style="text-align: center;">fasten the chains </div><div style="text-align: center;">of sin and shame</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Glory?</div><div style="text-align: center;">It is His, you’ll see</div><div style="text-align: center;">Because His love</div><div style="text-align: center;">has set me free</div><div style="text-align: center;">Again.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Vera Patterson</div>Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-73814646209538828002021-07-22T18:23:00.001-07:002021-07-25T20:32:40.028-07:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z5VVU9Tnd7E/YPoWayxXgMI/AAAAAAAAAy0/_URQmCbXdAIBZ8UbgRF_tegbjjBCvLV0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2848/IMG_4535.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1104" data-original-width="2848" height="184" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z5VVU9Tnd7E/YPoWayxXgMI/AAAAAAAAAy0/_URQmCbXdAIBZ8UbgRF_tegbjjBCvLV0gCLcBGAsYHQ/w371-h184/IMG_4535.jpeg" width="371" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><div><div style="text-align: center;">Growth</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">The biggest bird I’ve ever seen</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">filled the sky and then my screen</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">formed of air and formed of mist</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">for but a moment to exist</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">suspended there with widespread wings</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">embracing me and everything</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">embracing all that it could reach</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">a lesson here for me to teach</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">for but a moment... yes that’s true</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">just a blink for me, for you</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">time is ticking soon it ends</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our patience, lose our friends</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our things we lose our light</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">the day gives way unto the night</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our joy, we lose our love</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our faith in God above</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose the laughter, lose our grip</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our footing then we slip</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our childhood then our youth</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose sight of what’s the truth</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose time, we lose the day</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our chance, we lose our way</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose the peace we fought to gain</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our mind we go insane</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our strength we lose our sight</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our cool and start to fight</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our dream, we lose our hope</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">lose all ability to cope</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our kids we lose our car</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose all sense of who we are</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our parents, lose some weight</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose our hair our eyes go faint</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we lose so much it’s hard to know</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">how losing things can help us grow</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">and yet it does or so it seems</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow some insight to our needs</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow some balls, we grow a spine</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">grow out of saying “No, it’s fine”</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow some wings, we grow some sense</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we drop the need for all pretence</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow some wisdom, grow some light</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">grow used to shadows in the night</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow in touch with all we are</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow used to battle scars</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow weak or we grow strong</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">grow used to sometimes being wrong</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow up, we grow old</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow meek, we grow bold</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow a voice that’s all our own</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we stop expecting blood from stone</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow patience we grow wealth</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">then understand that time is stealth</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow sick we grow weary</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we look around and we grow teary</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">we grow wistful for the time</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">before our age started to climb</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">for but a moment to exist</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">formed of air and formed of mist</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">filled the sky and then my screen</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">the biggest bird I’ve ever seen.</div></span><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;">- Vera Patterson</div></span></div>Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-74060149031120701652021-07-22T17:19:00.005-07:002021-07-22T17:50:02.396-07:00<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2sBlX9Y8XmE/YPoKcgppnoI/AAAAAAAAAyM/DLNLB9ElRMQHpRzfjQ2vjsNOQU7rwSvZgCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_9714.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2sBlX9Y8XmE/YPoKcgppnoI/AAAAAAAAAyM/DLNLB9ElRMQHpRzfjQ2vjsNOQU7rwSvZgCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_9714.jpeg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Prepared</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">From the sky and from the air</span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">he watches me but I’m not scared.</span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My Father also watches on</span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">as does His ever precious Son.</span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>Eyes on me!</i> He commands</span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I am the Shepherd and the Lamb</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I am the way, the truth, the life</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">the evil one will bring you strife.</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Know he’s there, be not afraid</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">it is for Me you have been made.</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One life, one sky, One to be feared</span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">one voice to raise, one God revered.</span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Your only hope, the Holy One</span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I’ll grant you life when life is done.</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This one can only watch and tempt</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In Me your soul can rest, repent</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>Eyes on me!</i> He commands</span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I<i> am the Shepherd and the Lamb</i></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I will find you in the storm</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">from my hand you’ll not be torn.</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I’ll wait for you with love and grace</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">resist the ways he tests your faith.</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Turn to me, take my hand, </span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">heed my words, keep my commands.</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The devil wants to steal your gaze</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">with eyes on Me you’ll not be fazed.</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Just like these clouds that soon will pass</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">the life he offers will not last.</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Look past my child, I wait above</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">to shower you with hope and love</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Ignore this one who watches on</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">he’ll steal your soul and you’ll be gone</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">From the sky and from the air</span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">he watches me but I’m prepared.</span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">- Vera Patterson</span></span></p>Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-37705966634316263072021-07-20T05:23:00.000-07:002021-07-22T17:31:43.590-07:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uvdePDC5-_E/YPa-tUwI09I/AAAAAAAAAxI/3qEGnJJCFq4qf92Kc2iZitimFdS-3HKxACLcBGAsYHQ/AdobeStock_191120173.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uvdePDC5-_E/YPa-tUwI09I/AAAAAAAAAxI/3qEGnJJCFq4qf92Kc2iZitimFdS-3HKxACLcBGAsYHQ/AdobeStock_191120173.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">This is me at the beginning of each day</div><div style="text-align: center;">killing it!</div><div style="text-align: center;">Jumping high</div><div style="text-align: center;">OVERCOMING</div><div style="text-align: center;">every obstacle.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">That back leg though...</div><div style="text-align: center;">It’s</div><div style="text-align: center;">Despair</div><div style="text-align: center;">self-pity</div><div style="text-align: center;">anger</div><div style="text-align: center;">pride.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sometimes it clears</div><div style="text-align: center;">I land</div><div style="text-align: center;">jubilantly</div><div style="text-align: center;">sometimes it </div><div style="text-align: center;">knocks,</div><div style="text-align: center;">trips me up</div><div style="text-align: center;">knocks me out</div><div style="text-align: center;">and I feel</div><div style="text-align: center;">blindsided</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">In this moment I remember as I approach</div><div style="text-align: center;">the hurdle -</div><div style="text-align: center;">jumping is up to</div><div style="text-align: center;">ME</div><div style="text-align: center;">but being airborne?</div><div style="text-align: center;">That is</div><div style="text-align: center;">GOD.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">If I FOCUS on </div><div style="text-align: center;">HIM</div><div style="text-align: center;">I clan clear the challenge.</div><div style="text-align: center;">If I FOCUS on</div><div style="text-align: center;">ME</div><div style="text-align: center;">well...</div><div style="text-align: center;">That back leg right?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">If I take credit for clearing the</div><div style="text-align: center;">hurdle</div><div style="text-align: center;">stop to celebrate</div><div style="text-align: center;">MYSELF</div><div style="text-align: center;">momentum will carry me crashing</div><div style="text-align: center;">into the next</div><div style="text-align: center;">hurdle</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">If I remember</div><div style="text-align: center;">IT WAS GOD</div><div style="text-align: center;">and it will</div><div style="text-align: center;">NEED</div><div style="text-align: center;">to be Him again in</div><div style="text-align: center;">3.2 seconds</div><div style="text-align: center;">I am more likely</div><div style="text-align: center;">to jump and be jubilant</div><div style="text-align: center;">that</div><div style="text-align: center;">HE is a PROMISE KEEPER</div><div style="text-align: center;">who carries me</div><div style="text-align: center;">EVERY</div><div style="text-align: center;">time that </div><div style="text-align: center;">I TRUST HIM</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Vera Patterson</div><p></p>Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-63987180356517458162021-07-19T21:06:00.008-07:002021-07-22T17:31:20.492-07:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ACgi_fez74Y/YPZKCA3ikLI/AAAAAAAAAxA/LhHp_BsT0dUfUcXKckpdbYvL_pFAIfxWQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4868.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ACgi_fez74Y/YPZKCA3ikLI/AAAAAAAAAxA/LhHp_BsT0dUfUcXKckpdbYvL_pFAIfxWQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_4868.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He seeks me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">From deep down in my soul</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He bids me Waken!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Follow! Obey!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He seeks me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Stalks my dreams</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Imbuing the with ribbons of hope</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">for a life not contained by</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">these fingers, these toes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A life where skin</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">dissolves, where my light</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">re-emerges.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He seeks me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">From a space within</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">where words from lips</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">maintain shape,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">not transforming between my tongue</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and his ears</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">confusing who I am and what</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I need.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He seeks me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Offering </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">more of Him</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in exchange for</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">more of me...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">stripping me naked</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">all the while calling me</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Beautiful Creation!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Daughter! Beloved!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He seeks me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Over </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the mountains</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">through</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the valleys</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">meadows</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">sunshine</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in the</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">wind</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in the throws of</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">every storm</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">offering</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a crevice in</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">His expansive hand</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">where I curl up and</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">rest</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">before </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">rising from dreams</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">imbued with ribbons of hope</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">to seek </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Him</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- Vera Patterson</div><br /><p></p>Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-87637395818763222932021-07-19T20:48:00.004-07:002021-07-22T17:30:50.445-07:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f8fNBKyZpg0/YPZFogdBIFI/AAAAAAAAAw4/TrOMz8ht1zAs0Sbn5Rt_8vlgBRWKuVe8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_0885.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f8fNBKyZpg0/YPZFogdBIFI/AAAAAAAAAw4/TrOMz8ht1zAs0Sbn5Rt_8vlgBRWKuVe8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_0885.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cross words</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Beat me, shame me all you can</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> I am the lion and the lamb</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When I die you shall be free</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> It is the man you kill in me</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I never sinned, I never strayed</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I will rise beyond the grave.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My father waits and He is pleased</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">that I have suffered your dis-ease </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You disbelieved that I am He</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To your salvation holds the key.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Father? Forgive them one and all</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">On your merciful grace I call.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You were right, they all are lost</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My precious blood will pay the cost</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It will redeem them when it’s shed</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The sacrificial lamb be bled</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Father! Father! Bring me home</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To sit beside you on your throne</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Your will for me, it is complete</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I die in glory not defeat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My sheep? Your sins He’ll not condone</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And so for them I have atoned</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Come my child, sit at my feet</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It’s in your need that we shall meet.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> I am your shepherd and the Light</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> I will keep you through the night.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It is my blood that cleans your slate </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Young or old it’s not too late.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tell me... whisper what you’ve done</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I’ll lead you home my precious one</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When you believe you are the host</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">for Father Son and Holy Ghost</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am the One, the Great I am </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I wait to love you all I can.</div><br /> <p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: center;">- Vera Patterson</p></blockquote>Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-92038634413357024542020-06-16T04:46:00.001-07:002021-07-22T18:37:07.454-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wRjrvCGmVzY/XuiwNNCYDaI/AAAAAAAAAqo/7_xbQCp-gfQWrgZCzPO955ByXHFxQ3xoQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DSC00595.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1125" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wRjrvCGmVzY/XuiwNNCYDaI/AAAAAAAAAqo/7_xbQCp-gfQWrgZCzPO955ByXHFxQ3xoQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC00595.jpeg" width="225" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">ANGEL</span></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;">The sky is blue the feather’s white</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;">my angel stayed all through the night</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;">she watched me cry, she heard my wails,</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;">reminded me of Jesus’ nails.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;">I shook my fist, I ranted, raved</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;">She said <i>His love led to the grave.</i></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>It isn’t fair!</i> I moaned and sighed</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;">She said <i>you’re right, for you He died</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>He took your sin He gave His life</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>and you are stuck on earthly strife?</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>Where is your hope for what’s to come?</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>Where do your help and strength come from?</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>Your lack of faith is so absurd</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>put on your helmet, shield and sword!</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>Even now He sent me here</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>so you would know He’s always near.</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>Cry and rave but in the end</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>you’ll bend your knee, begin again.</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>you’ll follow Him as close you can</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>you will repent, yield to his plan.</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>Let it go, your need for this</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>your joy, my child is found in His.</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>Delight the Lord… make Him smile</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>rest in His grace, abide a while</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>You’ll find that you will want to stay</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>He planned your life to be this way.</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;">She took my hand, she dried my face</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>He died</i>, she whispered <i>in your place</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>His perfect life was used for you</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><i>Trust in Him and be renewed!</i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;">The sky is blue, the feather’s white</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: helvetica; font-kerning: none; font-size: large;">my angel stayed all through the night.</span></div>
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Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-46821639260885951382017-10-08T22:28:00.000-07:002017-10-08T22:33:22.055-07:00NINE<div style="text-align: center;">
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I had the pleasure of taking these two cuties to Ripley's Aquarium this weekend. As we wandered around looking at the exhibits, it dawned on me that this place was more than just a venue to look at sea creatures, it's a microcosm of the ocean... but more importantly, it is a microcosm of life.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JG_Ohkm6XdM/WdsDkIP7mUI/AAAAAAAAAl4/dG0Rco71-bABhdJIoKrLiI0w35E9VZuEQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_6851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JG_Ohkm6XdM/WdsDkIP7mUI/AAAAAAAAAl4/dG0Rco71-bABhdJIoKrLiI0w35E9VZuEQCK4BGAYYCw/s320/IMG_6851.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
A large group of people above the water contains the same variations as the creatures we marvelled at in the tanks: they were many different colours and species; some fish travelled in schools while others travelled alone; some creatures worked together to better the environment and others were just there because they literally had nowhere else to go. <br />
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When this shark swam by, I was like, "Look at those teeth!" then, "Yeah... too bad people who are predators don't have their sharp whites out there like that so everyone knows up front who they are and what they are about." Don't worry... I said it to myself!<br />
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"What about the baby sharks?" You ask. I have to admit to finding them cute but Athena almost touched one by accident when she reached into a tank to pet a stingray. The baby shark was swimming underneath and slipped out just as her hand came down. Human sharks can be like this also...hiding in the shadows then slipping out at opportune moments looking all cute and safe. "Don't touch the shark," the Aquarium employee shouted, startling us all. Thank God for his warning. Even when we watch for danger we don't always see it right there, hidden in plain sight.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t7KaeXyqwCc/WdrrEKk-thI/AAAAAAAAAlE/c3vbWelKPAc2cyRbgAfoWcamSMIL6DkgwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_6867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t7KaeXyqwCc/WdrrEKk-thI/AAAAAAAAAlE/c3vbWelKPAc2cyRbgAfoWcamSMIL6DkgwCK4BGAYYCw/s320/IMG_6867.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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We were patient and waited. When the coast was clear, we did pet the stingrays. So smooth and cool to the touch and much like many people I know, safe to hang out with if you don't ruffle their feathers but trigger their defences and you'll know it when they sting you.<br />
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Jellyfish too though they don't have to be triggered... they are just always going to sting you, no matter what, if you get on their wrong side, which is well...just about every side.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QLF4rDi59Dk/WdrrAuwBsgI/AAAAAAAAAk0/riTqtPNtkTs5m78356Ssctn4XUteOckKwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_6907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QLF4rDi59Dk/WdrrAuwBsgI/AAAAAAAAAk0/riTqtPNtkTs5m78356Ssctn4XUteOckKwCK4BGAYYCw/s320/IMG_6907.jpg" width="240" /></a>If you think the Aquarium lesson ended when the exhibits were over, we had to exit through the gift shop, a place full of shiny things designed to catch your eye but which on closer inspection prove themselves to be mostly junk. Rather than grab at the pinkest, cutest or shiniest thing, if you take your time to search, you can usually find something of substance and value hidden amongst the rubbish. I set out to encourage this...<br />
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But then I remembered that she's NINE! Unicorns, the tooth fairy and Santa exist... I am still almost always right. I remembered that my bed is the comfiest place for her to sleep and she hasn't realized that she really is too heavy to be sitting on my lap. So I bought the stuffed seahorse with the hearts and pastel colours that made her voice rise two octaves when she talked about how much she loved it. I also bought her a handful of candy from the bulk station just because I wanted to see her smile her crooked smile and skip her crooked-legged skip all the way back to the GO station. I bought them for her friend as well because I know the only thing better than having one happy nine year old is having two.<br />
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I filled the empty shopping bags with their discarded jackets, balancing the weight of their baggage from a pace behind. I watched their free arms swing while their others clutched the seahorse tight to their sides, the stuffed heads bouncing in their little-girl grasps and smiled inside knowing there is still so much time before she understands even half of this - thank God.<br />
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Happy Birthday!</div>
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<br />Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-22821639078346746862017-06-08T06:27:00.000-07:002017-06-17T04:48:27.081-07:00Danger! Keep Out!<br />
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Many North American cities experienced flooding this Spring. I have watched the news reports, silently horrified for those affected and the homes full of loving memories which have been lost. On a recent visit to the docks in Port Dalhousie, I noticed this sign and a truth about who I am hit me.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xz-9O8QQVDw/WSt2r_kkBpI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/wGdfkPobj_gA-CnXNtpXqvFT_4kCAsfmACK4B/s1600/IMG_5957%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xz-9O8QQVDw/WSt2r_kkBpI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/wGdfkPobj_gA-CnXNtpXqvFT_4kCAsfmACK4B/s400/IMG_5957%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
I wouldn't dream of walking over or around the barriers to explore how deep the water is. I am not tempted to wade up to the fence to see what's going on.<br />
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Ninety-nine percent of the time I obey signs. I don't ignore or walk past "danger". I handle packages marked as "fragile" with care. I assume that the people who place the signs do so with integrity and the intent to keep me safe.<br />
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As much as I am an outside-the-norm person when it comes to making independent life choices, I am a conformist when it comes to obeying some signs...ok, a lot of the signs.<br />
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Somehow it is also true that I do not obey some of the most important signs...the ones given to me by people about themselves. Instead, I do what I would call puzzle people out. When I see a "Do Not Touch" sign posted in a person's personality I want to poke at it to see why it is painful. A "Do Not Enter" makes me wonder what scariness lies behind the closed door.<br />
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One of my favourite quotes from Maya Angelou is: "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." Yet I don't. I can't. I hold out believing that whatever has caused them to react, behave or say the things they have can be healed with love or overcome with understanding.<br />
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I don't want people to hurt. I want them to be who they were before whatever it is that changed them changed them. I know that person is still in there, vulnerable but reachable. Catching occasional glimpses gives me the encouragement I need to keep trying.<br />
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I have heard it said that you can't change a person. I think that's only partly true... we can't change the experiences people we meet have had but we can offer them a safe place to reveal themselves without judgement and that, in itself can be life changing.Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-12193837896341845142017-05-22T21:32:00.001-07:002017-05-22T21:44:10.915-07:00The Ugly DucklingPaddling on the water, I spotted this array of birds and asked myself: <i>When is the last time you were willing to be mistaken for The Ugly Duckling?</i><br />
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What happened to the me who was comfortable planting herself in an environment full of seemingly different others? How did comfortable come to mean similar?<br />
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Why did I need these birds to remind me that it isn't a problem if I am mistaken for an ugly duckling, it is only a problem if I try to be so much like them that I forget I am a swan.<br />
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<br />Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-29986677645149359582017-05-16T16:27:00.004-07:002017-05-16T16:28:22.003-07:00Ripples<br />
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I love water, the way it moves, looks, feels, and adapts to whatever contains it...<br />
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As many hours as I have spent watching water move, I have spent watching its calm surface reflect everything hovering above it.<br />
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I enjoy watching the birds skim its surface, looking for fish or cooling their wings. I like looking through its freshness, curious to discover the sand, rocks and life which lay beneath.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OMybMOICGh0/V6ZveL38KaI/AAAAAAAAAeI/ioPFfkyFtgIFCfE_RJVwgrXZRtn2PQu9wCLcB/s1600/IMG_4439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OMybMOICGh0/V6ZveL38KaI/AAAAAAAAAeI/ioPFfkyFtgIFCfE_RJVwgrXZRtn2PQu9wCLcB/s400/IMG_4439.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
What I like best of all though is the movement formed when elements, such as these two send ripples out farther than my eye can know.<br />
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For me, the ripples are reflective of life and how the smallest, least significant-seeming decisions echo forth. Ripples are soft and gentle. They are noticeable yet they neither detain nor disturb us. They may even enhance our enjoyment of the water.<br />
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Other ripples, we call waves. Waves are big and loud. They can be seen coming a mile away. The can make us leap with joy or make us panic. They can rock, tip, deafen and sometimes engulf us. Waves change us. They leave us wet, staggering, they can turn us wrong side up, can obscure the light. In the midst of a wave, we lose sight of everyone and everything around us, making it appear as though we are alone. Waves change our perception, our orientation and most often, they carry us back to a place we had already journeyed past, causing us to travel through territory we thought we had already conquered. Some of us seek them, their energy and excitement...<br />
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Whether ripples or waves, no creature can move through water without creating a disturbance... not the smallest bug and not the best swimmer.<br />
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The same is true of life. No matter what you do or how hard you try, you will not make it to the other side of it unnoticed. You do not have to be a wave-maker. Ripplers will be seen, will be loved, will make a difference to someone just as these two made a difference to me.<br />
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<br />Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-53729835460827892792017-05-11T15:43:00.001-07:002017-05-11T15:43:32.972-07:00A Walk in the WoodsThough the soles of my shoes are soft, my footsteps land heavy in the silence, telling them I am coming to invade their solitude in search of my own.<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6zY6HxR_92E/WRThiAmsNgI/AAAAAAAAAjE/V4xd1_5IH2UjmAs3MZr0lgUmnGQaA34EgCLcB/s1600/buds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6zY6HxR_92E/WRThiAmsNgI/AAAAAAAAAjE/V4xd1_5IH2UjmAs3MZr0lgUmnGQaA34EgCLcB/s400/buds.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
Overhead, birds call out. I imagine them warning trees that they will be coming to briefly perch.<br />
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As if to create the illusion of sisterhood, the few dry leaves from last season which cling to the branches quiver in the same breath of cool wind which causes me to draw my jacket tighter.<br />
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High above an airplane flies; a metal container of people who like me choose movement over sitting still. Even as the emotional equilibrium I seek proves elusive, I earnestly pray they reach their physical destination.<br />
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Cloaked in the shelter of these mostly naked trees whose fallen leaves still warm the awakening earth, I relish the thought of being invisible to any eyes which might be straining through the small windows in search of familiar landmarks.<br />
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Nearby tree branches are studded with buds which stand promisingly perched, tips hopefully exposed to the sun waiting more patiently to discover their potential than ever I have.<br />
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These tightly bound leaves I envy. Patient or not, eager or not, in short order, they will likely be supplied with everything they need.<br />
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For me, however, time comes daily supplying me with dreams which may never be fulfilled, hopes which sometimes die before they settle in my heart and an assortment of experiences from which I bloom, then die, then bloom again.<br />
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From these I must divine who I am and for what purpose I have come.<br />
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The wind picks up. I walk on until my cold hands can no longer clutch the jacket closely enough. As I step from the woods, a familiar face allows its mask of concern to give way to a smile. I cross half the ground between us before I realize I am no longer cold.<br />
<br />Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-39362602517208775962016-10-09T06:39:00.001-07:002016-10-09T06:39:57.809-07:00EIGHT!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's hard to believe that today this beautiful little girl of mine is eight. I look at her every day and know my life has a purpose. Know there is a God. </div>
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I was in a marriage which in spite of its beautiful beginnings had started to suck at my soul. One night, as I lay in bed I prayed a prayer I remember still: "God, if there is any other soul meant to enter this universe through me please send it now. I can't hold on much longer."</div>
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Shortly after, I found out I was pregnant with this one. Though her birth added strain to an already strenuous situation, it also added joy, much love and laughter.</div>
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A few more years of struggle would pass before I left but when I did, I left with four little souls that the universe will use as it needs to. </div>
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Athena is sensitive, kind, loving, creative. She is joy personified. I love the twinkle in her brown eyes. I love that her body can barely contain the spirit within. She says the unsayable. She thinks the unthinkable. She questions the universe in ways that make me think hard. She feels a deep connection to the universe and to God. Though her head is always in the clouds, she is rooted in love in a way that gives her the confidence to be who she is. </div>
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She is a living reminder that prayers get answered. A reminder that I need to remain open to God's purpose. A reminder that even as love changes, it can create beautifully wonderful things. </div>
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There is a reason that she was born Thanksgiving weekend. </div>
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Happy Birthday Athena and Thank You!</div>
Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-38883866829696796512016-09-25T14:41:00.001-07:002016-10-22T17:17:39.534-07:00The Living Dead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kV-Yqnxqq50/V-gxOcybxUI/AAAAAAAAAfc/60NOH33nHQMSmwRd7E1f5d1dn_ptfa1mQCLcB/s1600/IMG_4849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kV-Yqnxqq50/V-gxOcybxUI/AAAAAAAAAfc/60NOH33nHQMSmwRd7E1f5d1dn_ptfa1mQCLcB/s400/IMG_4849.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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On a canoe ride in Cootes Paradise this week, we stopped to enjoy a picnic under this tree. I love trees. I am drawn to them. They inspire me to explore deep thoughts and emotions. As we sat I was not surprised my mind turned as it did.<br />
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More interesting to me than the limbs that thrive, are the dead ones. The ones that still cling to the trunk, some longer than others, evidence of the time and energy invested in their growth before their lives were terminated.<br />
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Even though they are dead, as the limbs age, rot, then are torn away from the trunk by a gust of wind or under the weight of winter ice, even then, the tree long thought to have dealt with the loss of life will find itself healing anew. Ten, twenty or fifty years from now the wound from the loss will never heal so fully that one who sits under it won't be able to see where the tree has been wounded.<br />
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Still, the tree grows majestically. It reaches it's thriving limbs out across the water. It drinks deeply. It provides oxygen, shade, food, shelter for wild life as well as for the pair of us looking for a place to catch our breath; feed our bodies; renew our spirits.<br />
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As my thoughts continue on to myself, I consider the number of ideas, dreams, and relationships that had to die in order for me to grow. Like the tree, the remnants of my abandoned things either cling to or have wounded me. I wonder how much easier life would be if my wounds and yours were worn externally or at least openly.<br />
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When we climb back into the canoe, I rest my hand on the tree, feel its strength. I glance back at the tangled bare limbs, thank them for their nakedness. In the moment we push off from shore I am deeply grateful for the beauty, for the truth. I look at all the places the tree tried to grow; tried and succeeded for some time before failing.<br />
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I see life. I see me. I see you too.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s7Q_DnY9EVo/V-hC6x50_wI/AAAAAAAAAfs/mR4dw4-kUOgliJN_vWBDX78G84hYRyKTQCLcB/s1600/IMG_4850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s7Q_DnY9EVo/V-hC6x50_wI/AAAAAAAAAfs/mR4dw4-kUOgliJN_vWBDX78G84hYRyKTQCLcB/s400/IMG_4850.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-89314077561309704462016-09-04T03:56:00.001-07:002016-09-04T04:05:42.748-07:00Wishing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XQroqQ80NtI/V8v2m-Eo0DI/AAAAAAAAAfI/1L-rUKmPmtEP1zaPHX3PX71JF8elgivNACLcB/s1600/DSC06487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XQroqQ80NtI/V8v2m-Eo0DI/AAAAAAAAAfI/1L-rUKmPmtEP1zaPHX3PX71JF8elgivNACLcB/s400/DSC06487.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I was standing here in Prince Edward Island looking at the water and wishing people were more like it. Wishing I could look at them and see past any shit on the surface right down deep inside of them to all the life they wish they could hide. Wishing I could know if the waves on their surface are the only momentum they have or if they only exist to distract me from what's going on underneath. Wishing that a simple glance could tell me how shallow or deep they are.<br />
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I wish people could look at me and see who I am rather than get distracted by all the bullshit that's going on inside their own heads; wish it didn't make it impossible for them to see me clearly. <br />
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Some people look at water and they want it to be clear, revealing. Some people are disappointed when they look and don't see a reflection of themselves.<br />
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When water is dark, dirty or murky most of us turn away disinterested, disgusted by what we cannot know. We do not want to linger on the shore or lounge on the beach hoping the smell dissipates and the water clears. Not so with people. With people we assume mystery, we want to wade into their funk so we can work at finding out what's underneath.<br />
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Admittedly, sometimes a short vigil is warranted. A storm may have just passed. The water may simply need time to resettle.<br />
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Underneath all water seen and unseen, lays a bottom littered with debris and/or laden with treasure. Whether beautiful or parasitic, there is also some form of life.<br />
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What does water make you wish for?Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-65474307403089372152016-08-08T06:42:00.000-07:002016-08-08T06:45:14.933-07:00Garbage<br />
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Literally and figuratively we all have garbage. <br />
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We quickly and routines take out the physical garbage in our lives, prompted by the cycle of our Municipal System which cues us each week to do so. When we forget, our other senses kick in to remind us with visual clues at the end of a neighbour's driveway or olfactory clues in the form of terrible smells. </div>
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But what about our emotional garbage? Without external clues, how many of us routinely sift through our junk and remember to eradicate it from our lives? How many of us bury it deep down hoping its stench and toxicity it will not show up in our lives? How many of us throw it out back hoping that hiding it in plain site means that it's hidden? If you checked you emotional backyard right now, would it be clear or would you find it littered with garbage from your last relationship? From your mother? From your father?</div>
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Do you invite other people into your yard and ask them to help you pretend they see a well-manicured lawn adorned with blooming flowers or do you allow them to point out the weeds and make suggestions for improvements? Do you ever ask them to help you?<br />
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If you have ever seen a therapist then I would say yes, you have either taken out or at least tried to organize your garbage. Not enough of us see therapists to clear our emotional garbage. We more often do it to stabilize ourselves during emotional crisis.<br />
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Sometimes, on garbage day, I'll spot a neighbour putting their garbage at someone else's curb. It's innocent enough, really. They just want to take out their trash and the truck has already passed so they cross the street and plunk it down before the truck doubles back. Perhaps you do that. Perhaps you dump your garbage on someone else and walk away with the satisfaction of knowing your trash can is empty.<br />
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Unlike the literal garbage, however, I guarantee you that no matter how often or how well you think you dump your emotional trash on someone else, it won't take long before you discover the mound in your life has not just returned but increased.<br />
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Paddling out in the canoe, I see this garbage on the side of this hill and I wonder why anyone would leave it there. I wonder why they don't get a friend and clean it up. Then I remind myself...some garbage is better off out in the open. </div>
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Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-48939063920457484082016-08-02T06:09:00.000-07:002016-08-02T06:09:08.913-07:00The M Word...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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ME</div>
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I am from love.</div>
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I am from</div>
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<i>yes you can</i> and</div>
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<i>to hell with him</i></div>
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from struggle</div>
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from strength</div>
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from independence</div>
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from red, white and blue.</div>
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I am from <i>figure it out</i><br />
from<i> pick yourself up</i></div>
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from fresh air</div>
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from late nights of</div>
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hide and seek</div>
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of truth or dare</div>
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from scraped knees</div>
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from broken bones</div>
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from the time honoured understanding</div>
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that streetlights mean go home.</div>
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I am from fistfights</div>
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from penny candy</div>
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from words written on</div>
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borrowed pages<br />
from long walks</div>
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from double dutch<br />
from early morning basketball</div>
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from tents pitched in backyard grass, </div>
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hidden by trees with bare limbs.</div>
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I am from commitment<br />
from uncertainty</div>
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from bitterness</div>
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from disappointment</div>
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from broken dreams</div>
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from freedom</div>
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from cocoon</div>
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from flight.</div>
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I am from fortitude</div>
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from expectation</div>
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from perseverance</div>
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from fire</div>
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from ashes</div>
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from behind the lens.</div>
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I am from hope</div>
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from forgiveness</div>
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from light.</div>
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I am from Love</div>
Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-73996972386175487012016-08-01T08:15:00.001-07:002016-08-06T15:34:46.155-07:00FLOAT!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BUk2aGq78YI/V547wICrKhI/AAAAAAAAAcg/YjvzDY-XkDkf-DKsC5_Y--_itEPGKPRFQCLcB/s1600/IMG_4262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BUk2aGq78YI/V547wICrKhI/AAAAAAAAAcg/YjvzDY-XkDkf-DKsC5_Y--_itEPGKPRFQCLcB/s320/IMG_4262.JPG" title="Vera Patterson" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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I don't always know why I am moved to take a picture...not always in tune with the reason it appeals to me. As I flipped through some photos from this summer, I found this one and the word that rose up inside was FLOAT.</div>
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Floating... it's one of the easiest things we can do in the water which is why it is one of the first thing they teach young kids once they are comfortable in the pool.</div>
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Float, they say. Just let your body relax, let the water hold you. Like the new swimmer, we fight it. Or I do anyway. I can do it, for a while. Flip onto my back, let the water take my weight while my eyes scan the sky or close against the brilliant sun.</div>
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Most of the time I find myself resisting the float. Even if I manage to make it onto my back, after a moment or two I start kicking; start feeling a need to direct my course or reach my destination faster. I forget that I like the slight prickles the sun makes on my skin; forget that opening my eyes and finding that I have been magically teleported to a new place can be exciting, rewarding, inspiring.</div>
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Floating requires us to let go of all sense of control. To trust that the water will keep us, that the current can guide us.</div>
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Floating also requires so much less energy than trying to reach a destination, yet we direct ourselves. In spite of the number of times, we reach our target only to realize it isn't nearly as interesting as we thought from across the water and we have to turn around to swim back to where we started. Or the number of times we find that what we thought was a direct line turned out to be the long route; or even tire ourselves swimming against a current rather than patiently wait for the tide to change before heading out.</div>
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FLOAT...it's my word for the day. It's what I'm going to do more of both in the water and in my life. Laugh if you must as you motor past but I will keep floating. I may not get where I think I want to go... or get where I go very quickly. </div>
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I may get somewhere better.</div>
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<br />Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-27143130356382181882016-07-30T05:56:00.005-07:002016-07-30T05:56:47.415-07:00Happy Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy Nineteenth Birthday Kiddo!<br />
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It's hard to imagine now but there were days I wasn't sure we were both going to make it to your third, fourth or fifth birthday but here you are, 19 and we are both still going strong.</div>
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As many days as there have been when I wanted to strangle you, there have been so many more that I have been so grateful that I didn't. Not just because of the jail time, but because of the young lady you are.</div>
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In spite of the homeschooling that many thought would ruin your chances at a future, you survived the transition from home to dorm life, made a boatload of new friends, made it through your first illness without me and managed not to spend every penny you had. Thank you for the countless phone calls you made home as you walked across campus from one class to another.</div>
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Year two brings new excitement with your first apartment and room mate. With so many of your friends renting in the same building living off campus will have many advantages of last year. Cooking for yourself should be interesting. I'm glad you know how and I hope you stay motivated to do it well. </div>
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Now that you can legally drink, I hope you never try to find yourself at the top or the bottom of any bottle. I pray that whether marijuana becomes legal or not you remember that your body and brain are better off without them.</div>
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I am honoured that you invited me to share a Birthday Brunch with you. I suspect that as time moves forward I will begin missing more and more of your ordinary moments which has made this summer that much sweeter. I hope I am always invited to be for the big things.</div>
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You love well, I'm glad you at least learned that along the way. Your friendship with Abby has been almost as long as your life and I'm glad to see that it continues. Two years with Vincent hasn't changed you much. I am happy to know he treats you well and, as always, will be watching to ensure that continues. </div>
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Advice for year nineteen... Feel pain when it comes to you. Work your way through it. I promise that no matter how deep the hole you fall in I will be madly shovelling with all my tools to extricate you but even if I drop a rope, only you can choose to grab onto it.<br />
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My heart made yours to love. If you do nothing other than that you make me proud.<br />
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Happy 19th kiddo.<br />
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Love,<br />
Mom</div>
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Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-18977041483875619472016-07-26T07:06:00.000-07:002016-08-06T08:19:18.369-07:00Into the Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I saw these rocks, a question came to mind. One I had to answer for myself and one which, maybe you too would like to contemplate.<br />
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What holds you up?<br />
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As solid and heavy as these stones are, they are also stacked one atop another. Some are the foundations on which others are able to stand tall above the water. No matter how solid the rock or the foundation, still some lean.<br />
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Perhaps they were not originally placed this way. Perhaps over time the wind, the water, have caused shifts, created crevices which needed to be compensated for. Perhaps some have even met the bough (or stern) of a boat lost in the darkness.<br />
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Regardless of the why, the question remains.<br />
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What or who provides me with a solid foundation. What or who keeps me from falling.<br />
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Like the water, my answer has shifted through time. Like the rocks, in the darkness, I can't always see what lays beneath, or what I have used to prop myself up or leaned myself into for stability.<br />
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It is not until the day breaks that I am able to look around and recognize the changes which took place int he darkness... the shoulders I am standing on... the hands that fed me... the arms that encircled me... the things and the people that saw me through.<br />
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As I look at the stones I know that like in my life, there is even more unseen going on beneath the surface of the water. <br />
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More propping, more leaning, more foundation to be unearthed and be grateful for. It's something which I continue to contemplate in hopes of discovering the truth about myself and my relationships. Recognizing my who's and what's is enlightening but also heartbreaking. It's a question which, when answered honestly, has the power to change you.<br />
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What holds you up?<br />
<br />Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-21494604005860938292016-07-21T08:06:00.001-07:002016-08-06T08:17:57.228-07:00The Bridge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OmdrRwpVJTE/V5DmqmNH11I/AAAAAAAAAbw/mbcXqN-cqPs2H9-XqpDuFIDjJ4Y089_ZgCLcB/s1600/IMG_4304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OmdrRwpVJTE/V5DmqmNH11I/AAAAAAAAAbw/mbcXqN-cqPs2H9-XqpDuFIDjJ4Y089_ZgCLcB/s320/IMG_4304.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Marty and I bought a canoe. A canoe, a strange and wonderful thing which, with a little steam, allows us to travel short or long distances in silent contemplation.<br />
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I have to admit it was Marty's idea. I have never been much for canoeing. For me, until now, it was a cottage sport. One I engaged in happily enough but if it were missing, I would contemplate the water from a different vantage point.<br />
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Still...<br />
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So, we have a canoe. Living in the City, I didn't think we would use it much. I guess twice, once last week at Jordan Harbour and once this week in the Credit River, isn't really much but I'll tell you what happened because of the canoe.<br />
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Our house in Mississauga is close to Lakeshore. When we decided to canoe, we looked for a place nearby and found that just 10 minutes away from the place I have lived much of my life there is a canoe club.<br />
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When we got our 50lb green machine harnessed onto the roof of the trusty silver Honda, we took off. Within the half hour we were pushing from shore. At first, there was a lot of noise from a park across the river, the Boat Club downstream and the GO train making it's way from Toronto. As we paddled on, however, wild greenery overtook the manicured lawns and bird chatter overtook the human voices.<br />
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I wouldn't say it was silent... there were a few others using the water... but it was quiet.<br />
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Still...<br />
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Not long into our trip, we approached a bridge which I recognized as Dundas Street crossing over the Credit River. <br />
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I told Marty, "I have always crossed that bridge and looked down at the people paddling in the water, today we are the people in the water."<br />
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As we paddled on I realized that I will never cross that Dundas Street bridge again without knowing what it feels like to glide underneath it while nature teems around me. Next time I will know there are willow trees down there arching over the water, their leaves gently skimming it's surface. I will remember the strength of the current, the small family of red-breasted Mergansers. I will remember the warmth of the water rushing around my legs while small pebbles press against the bottom of my shoes where the water shallowed and we had to disembark and lift our boat to turn her back. I will remember the strength of the current, the small family of red-breasted Mergansers.<br />
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As we settled the canoe back atop the car and pulled away from the club Marty asked, "Do you ever think you will take the canoe out for a run by yourself?"<br />
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A month ago, when he was avidly searching, my immediate answer would have been NO! - yes, emphatically so.<br />
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On this day I had to say "Not now. Perhaps when I get better at steering, more confident that I can... perhaps then I will."<br />
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I don't know when that will be. Not sure how long it will take but I know that in the meantime I will enjoy the learning and the very different view it gives me of our world.<br />
<br />Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878641679004286600.post-76534078571665624502016-01-25T14:26:00.004-08:002016-01-25T14:26:45.537-08:00My Rainbow Connection<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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I have heard a lot recently about
rainbow babies. Babies born after the loss of another through various
means. It's an interesting term and not one that I heard being used
twenty or even ten years ago.</div>
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Although in some ways is seems a
beautiful concept, it is also kind of disturbing. Disturbing that the
subsequent child is saddled with the responsibility to fill a hole in
the lives of their parents. Also that parents seem to be
romanticizing the lives of their new babies.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Admittedly, if I had heard the term
many years ago, I too may have clung to it, considered that
perspective a gift. I was, however, given a different gift and a
different perspective which I would like to share.</div>
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At 26, I was nine years into a
relationship which included two years of marriage. Together we felt
ready to reproduce. Two months into the decision when the home
pregnancy test I took came back negative, I somehow still believed
that I was pregnant. It would be three weeks later that I had the
pregnancy confirmed by a Dr., which, ironically would be the same day
that I found out that I was losing my first chance at motherhood.</div>
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Nine weeks is what they told me I was.
Like a lot of miscarriages, mine involved a lot of poking and
prodding and appointments crammed into a short period of time and a
lot of guilt over what I could have done differently. For me, it also
involved a lot of raging at the universe for choosing to bless so
many parents who I felt were more reckless and less dedicated to the
craft of family creation than I was. It didn't help that the
miscarriage took place a few days before my birthday or that I chose
not to share it with most of my friends but rather suffered through
it virtually alone.</div>
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Fast forward 18 months and, low and
behold, lucky me! I am19 weeks into what most believe is my first
pregnancy. It is April 18<sup>th</sup>... the day of my first
ultrasound and I have arranged to arrive at my public service job
late to accommodate the early appointment.</div>
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In the ultrasound, however, I was told
that there was “something wrong” and that I should “speak to my
Doctor.” Luckily, the Dr.'s office is kitty-corner to the hospital
where I had the ultrasound so I booked it across the street and
waited for her to arrive and provide clarification. Though she was
surprised to see me sans appointment, she left me to call diagnostic
imaging and get my diagnosis.</div>
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An hour later I left her office armed
with a genetic counseling appointment and the news that my baby was
“not viable.”</div>
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In the week between the diagnoses and
Matthew's stillbirth, Anencephaly was a term I became uncomfortably
familiar with as were the “you'll try agains” and the “it
doesn't always work the first times.” To make matters worse, I was
making arrangements with the funeral home for his cremation when I
felt I should have been making shower arrangements, the platitudes
all evaporated in the heat of anger and injustice.</div>
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Fast forward thirteen months I was
holding my first healthy child in my arms. Zoe, I named her, LIFE –
what we had each given to the other.</div>
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Fast forward another 22 months and I
was holding a baby boy. I would go on to have two additional healthy
children.</div>
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What's my point?</div>
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When my second child was
three-and-a-half, I did something I had heard about others before me
doing, I asked him what it was like to be born.</div>
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As we sat talking, my son told me an
incredible story of how Zoe had been in my tummy and, wanting to be
born first, he pushed her out. He went on to say that he then got in
me and she then pushed him out. That was when he decided to let her
be born first.</div>
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Although there was no way of knowing
the gender of my miscarried child, my stillborn had been a boy.</div>
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At that age, my son had no earthly way
of knowing that I had been pregnant twice before I birthed his older
sister.</div>
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I now talk about it openly with the
kids and they sometimes mention their “missing” brother. I hear
today's prolific use of the term Rainbow Baby and ask myself if I
believe Zoe is the rainbow after my stormy beginning to motherhood or
if things are as Antonios told me, my kids inadvertently causing me
pain and grief as they played their juvenile game.</div>
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Either way, as I type this, I think of
the photo below which I took the morning after we buried Matthew's ashes under an
olive tree in Greece and the unexpected rainbow which appeared when
it was developed. </div>
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Verahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555845155873787543noreply@blogger.com0