Just look at that! “Look at what?” The sky. My husband looked up and asked again. “What about it?” Can’t you see? The stars. Look at the stars. “Oh, yeah. I’m cold.” And he went into the house, leaving me out there alone. Or not. Granted, D’d been checking things off his to-do/note list, […]
And Then I Jump
I brush the hair from my mouth and eyes, pull hands up into sweatshirt sleeves, and lean into the wind as we trudge up the path. We gather under the pavilion to struggle into harnesses, clip heavy ropes to anchor loops, tighten helmets. I feel much less brave than I did when I signed […]
When Papa Comes Running
It’s the twilight hour. My husband’s settled in to watch the Tigers’ game with me. But he’s dozing. A frantic call from my daughter interrupts the outfield scramble. “Grace is in the field behind your house screaming. She’s not moving. She’s just standing there screaming, ‘Help me!’ I sent her through the field for […]
Her Father’s Joy
“You’re just waiting to get pregnant,” my doctor assured me. But days of thermometers and planned lovemaking and monthly disappointment tore at thinned emotions, feelings also frayed from too much doing, too much identity seeking in serving. Adoption doors hid behind lines that flowed into forever. “The company wants us to move,” my […]
One Word Less for Lent 2015 – 39
They spread a table with handcrafted hospitality. Take one, they say, and when enough is certain, take another. We, proud, hesitate to accept a free gift. But in the end it’s not about the gift it’s about the love. Word Count: 39 Love has endless ways of being expressed ~ Holley Gerth Note: I took a whole suitcase […]
When You Can’t Say Goodbye
Dear Nduta, You know that letter I wrote? You won’t get it. Nor will you get your birthday card because I mailed it too late. I got the news this week that you’ve moved away from the area where Compassion works. It was such a shock, and I can’t tell you how sad we are […]
Exhale Frozen Breath
The psychodogs take less than two minutes to relieve themselves before they beg to come back in. It’s still dark when I step outside. I catch my breath and imagine ice crystals forming around my lungs. I try to guess the temperature as the garage door creaks upward in protest. I slip my jacket sleeves over […]
On Poetry, Cracking and Other Stuff
I’m a bit breathless and cracked, broken and wrecked. And yet full, complete, repaired. Re-paired with renewed passion but still trying to find my balance after the last three months. In November, I made my now annual trek to my other home in a Texas canyon–Laity Lodge for a High Calling retreat. Then there was Thanksgiving at […]
Please Forgive Me
Dearest Nduta, Have you ever heard of the Dominican Republic? It’s a country that shares an island with the country of Haiti just south of the United States in the Caribbean Sea. Compassion invited me to go there last week on one of their trips and write some stories about what I saw. I […]
What Happens When Sponsor Meets Child
I woke up yesterday after only two hours of sleep. I’d been up until 5 a.m. trying to find words to tell you about Tuesday… about hanging out with the sweet moms and babes who are served by Compassion’s Child Survival Program, about sharing a meal with them, about winding our way across roughly paved streets and uneven, disintegrating […]
