The Kindness of Children – Thankful Thursday

The other night, when my family was holding family scripture and prayer, my niece and two eldest nephews propped me up for the prayer because I was tired and my arms were limp, so my niece folded them for me. It’s a simple thing to do, to cross my limp arms for the family prayer, but it brought tears to my eyes that she would think to do that for me.

I am so very grateful for these children and for the love and care that they continue to show me even when they ar also so very tired from school and then farm work when they come home. They are a blessing.

Check out the original Thankful Thursday. (Will update when able.)

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Fear is a Four Letter Word

With so much going on,

I never have enough time

To find the comfort needed.

 

An early wake up call,

A mother in need,

Drive there as fast as can be.

 

Quick, take your wife,

Your beloved companion for life

To the hospital to make sure she’s all right.

 

Children are sleeping,

Dreaming sweet dreams

Unaware of the fear surrounding their parents.

 

And here I sit at home,

All alone and yet not,

Praying that no more pain will come.

 

They’ve been through so much,

Five pregnancies, three of which turned out all right;

Please don’t let this one go like the first.

 

A child was lost so long ago

And though there have been three cheerful smiles since,

These two unborn lives might be at risk.

 

So I sit here,

Wrapped in my fear

And Pray that it will be enough.

---

One of my sister’s had a scare this morning in the wee hours. She’s currently pregnant with twins; they are her fifth pregnancy. She has three beautiful children, but her first pregnancy was a miscarriage. Her husband was able to call another sister of ours to come and watch their young children this morning while he drove his wife to the hospital. He let us know that both heartbeats are going strong at the moment, but is still very shaken.

Mom went over an hour ago to help out for the day.All I can do is to pray that they will be all right.

Will You Listen?

There are all kinds of secrets

Found throughout the day:

Dishes not wash all the way,

Television on before dressed for the bus,

Brownies made and cleaned up after.

 

(Not everything is too much.)

 

Good secrets come and go,

Bad secrets like to crop up as well:

Homework hidden and not done,

People pushing things under the rug;

Ignore it enough, it’ll go away?

 

(No it won’t.)

 

Bad secrets aren’t the only ones hiding,

Good secrets jump out and brighten your life:

Kittens brought home when you needed a friend,

A first attempt at a child’s sewing gifted, made by hand.

Someone coming over just because, but managing to bring just what you needed.

 

(Woken up at night, given what you need to work from home.)

 

Secrets like to lurk and hide,

They like to make you stumble and your eyes go wide,

But at the same time, they can be quiet and sneak up on you.

A child waking their mother at night,

Seeking peace to sleep by talking something out.

“I’m always here if you need me, if only to talk it out.”

 

(She didn’t mind how late it was or that she had work in three hours.)

 

Families can be loud with their secrets,

Shouting them out and using the bright lights to distract

From the shadows lurking beneath.

They can also be quiet,

Barely whispering about the teeth and the heartbreak.

 

(Just because ‘everyone knows’ doesn’t mean that they understand.)

 

But will you listen as I speak my words?

Will you keep quiet to hear all that is in me?

My secrets are my own to share or silence,

But will you listen to them all the same?

Secrets can choke you, both good and bad, if you cannot tell anyone.

 

(Oh Lord, I pray, listen to my heart as well as my mouth.)

---

Written for this week’s Dungeon Prompts: http://theseekersdungeon.com/2014/03/13/dungeon-prompts-season-2-week-11-secrets/

Partially prompted by a few things coming to light this morning: the children didn’t quite finish getting ready for school and one almost missed the bus, but they’d made brownies after everyone had gone to bed and yet had managed to clean up (almost) completely after themselves. This morning really needed those brownies.

Be Still and Know

I’m lost in this day and age of now, now, now.

There is no wait, there is no rest.

Patience is like endurance, it is a thing of the past.

Where do I go to find peace?

Peace is not something that you can buy or sell,

It’s value can never be determined and yet it is priceless.

Where do you find it, this peace that makes life worthwhile?

Do you retire to the wilderness, making nature your tabernacle?

Do you enter a chapel and listen to the hymns of an organ or piano?

Do you retreat to your art, music or writing?

Maybe it is finding the beauty in another’s work that brings you peace.

For myself, I find it in quiet prayer and contemplation,

Safe in the knowledge that I am not alone in this life.

But have Another who is always looking out for me,

Even when I cannot see Him myself.

Peace fills my heart and calms my mind.

I know that there is a Plan for me, but that I also have choices in it.

This life is not for rushing and not for idle chatter,

Though those too have their place.

Refuge is something that I can find and carry with me,

But it will need renewal in order to remain,

Renewal I can find in my study of my faith.

http://theseekersdungeon.com/2013/10/10/dungeon-prompts-week-9-seeking-refuge/