You’re the Best

He looked sad and lost sitting alone in the back seat of the big black limousine. Experiencing the violent death of a father is difficult for anyone to navigate much less a ten year old boy, he was understandably affected.

Yes, his father was a drug dealer and an ex-con, but still, he was his father and someone he loved very much.

She leaned into the back seat and introduced herself, “do you remember me, I was a friend of your mother’s years ago when I lived in this town”. He nodded absently. “I want to tell you something that I think will help you.  I knew your father, she continued, I knew about a lot of the things that he did. He did good things and he did bad things (the boy hung his head) but the one thing I never want you to forget is that YOU are the best thing that your father ever did.”

The look of joy and illumination more than assured her that he got the message.

Feeling It

Overheard:

“So, what’s your favorite color?” he asked.

“Um, I don’t really have a favorite,”  she replied thoughtfully, “I like lots of different colors for different reasons.”

He persisted, “What if you had to nail it down to just one.”

“I guess it would be ultraviolet, then,” she noted.

“That’s not a real color; you can’t even see ultraviolet”, he said pointedly.

“No”, she replied with a smile as she closed her eyes and looked up, “but you can sure feel it.”

Pieces of Ash

Piece of Ash from Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs

So sad that homes are now engulfed in flames from the fire burning in my hometown.
I watch live via Internet as homes burn to the ground.
Up until this afternoon, the fire threatened to come my way, but it moved to the north.

For the past few nights, I watched this fire from a safe distance, mesmerized by the amazing colors and movement.

Fire is a beautifully, devastating force.

 

Seriously ?!?!

The youth sat in his pastor’s office and fidgeted with the hemp bracelet on his wrist.

“What seems to be the problem, son?” asked the pastor.

“Well, I just don’t get it, I mean, I can see how some things happen to people because of things they’ve done, brought on by their own mistakes, but why or what, I mean if God is so good, then how ….” his voice trailed off.

The bald, overweight seasoned pastor chuckled to himself,  ’how many times have I heard this‘ and replied, “yes, son, I realize that we all have our ‘whys’ to ask of God, but you just need to have faith and believe that He knows what he is doing. He is God and you shouldn’t question his wisdom.”

“To be honest, Pastor, I don’t think I would ask why”, retorted the young man.

“Well, what would you want to say,?” questioned the pastor.

The youth sat for a minute and blurted out with raw emotion, “what the hell, God, I mean seriously, did it have to be this way” ?

Then tears welled up in the young man’s eyes as the pastor went agasp.

Thank God for the Promise of Spring …

Delicate buds hold so much promise of good things to come.

Like Breathing…

“So, what happened?” asked her mother.

The other afternoon, I had another panic attack and felt like I couldn’t breathe, so I lay down to see if that would help. I cried out but words would not form, all that came was — hel, hel, he. So,  I closed my eyes and tried to turn off my brain and what came out of my mouth was, Hal,  Hal, then Hal-le-lu , and finally Hal-le-lu-jah . I kept saying it because it was just like breathing, not much more effort. I don’t remember how long I did this, but I fell asleep and had a wonderful, peaceful sleep. It felt like I dreamed, but didn’t remember anything.   When I woke, it was dark outside. When I went to bed later that evening, I was worried that I wouldn’t fall asleep, so I tried it again and fell right to sleep.”

“You should try it, Mom, it will help you with your insomnia,” I suggested.

Her mother replied, ‘oh, I am not a religious person”.

“Me neither, I just know it works”

Made Special

He showed up before the restaurant opened, dressed in the same clothes as always and a big round wet spot on the front of his pants and smelled of urine and alcohol. The boss usually made his discount breakfast, but he was on his way to the bank, so he let her prepare it.

She tenderly fried his one egg, one piece of ham, and added one slice of buttered toast and gently placed them on a plate.

As she handed him the plate he said, “D’jou make my eeegs like you wuz makin ‘em fo yo man?”

He surprised her that he watched her; she thought to herself, “nope, no man, everyone gets this treatment.”