Rain delayed.
Volleyball played.
Pasta prolific.
Helpers terrific.
Talkers lingered.
Cake samplers fingered.
Colorful jello.
Balloons golden yellow.
No more papers
No more books
Lots of teacher’s
Happy looks
My son
Got it done
By God’s grace
Now? Finish the race.
~~~
© Lisa M. Luciano 2019
God had it planned:
Jesus was born into a
non-digital,
less mobile,
less global
earth.
That meant:
No shepherds Instagramming.
No angels captured on YouTube.
No Mary & Joseph taking selfies.
No wise men following a GPS.
No paparazzi hovering.
How peaceful.
This is my favorite Christmas carol, based on a poem by Christina Rossetti:
In the bleak mid-winter
Icy wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long long ago.
Angels and archangels
They have gathered there,
Cherubim and Seraphim
Rising in the air –
Oh, but Mary
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved
With a mother’s kiss.
Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor can earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall fall away
When He comes to reign.
What then can I give Him,
Empty as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man
I would know my part;
What then can I give Him?
I must give my heart.
“Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life.”
-Corrie Ten Boom
“The only people who soul can truly magnify the Lord are…people who acknowledge their lowly estate and are overwhelmed by the condescension of the magnificent God.”
-John Piper
When I tiptoe into
Betsy’s Deep Valley home
Or Laura Ingalls’ dugout
There’s magic
And melancholy.
Long-Ago and Right-Now
Mix inside my heart
like oil and water
I seek
proof,
connection,
and solace
These treasures are surprises,
As miraculous
as discovering
artifacts in Betsy’s cellar
or a forgotten
slate pencil lodged
Within the banks of Plum Creek.
I grasp ghosts
Snugly trapped in time —
Forever bound in
Favorite books
I see Betsy and Laura —
They are as close as the Big Hill
And the ripples of Plum Creek —
But as far away as the moon.
© Lisa M. Luciano
Inspired by the Betsy-Tacy tour and because I also felt this when visiting Walnut Grove years ago (even though I was dressed in calico and a sunbonnet.)
Does anyone else feel a bit of magic and melancholy when visiting the historic place of a favorite person? Comments welcome 🙂
Word Prompt of the Day: SOLACE
The orphan boy showed up one morning on Mariah’s doorstep. He had lost his way the night before and had nowhere to go. Mariah offered him work in exchange for room, board and a chance to go to school. That was all George Carver wanted.
George loved to learn – from books and from the natural world. After completing his education, George was offered a position at Tuskegee Institute, teaching agricultural science. When he arrived at the college, he discovered there were no supplies or money for a classroom laboratory. So, he led his students to the town dump. They collected bottles, cooking pots, jar lids, wire, scrap metal, rusty lamps and broken handles.
“All this may seem like junk to you,” he told his skeptical students. “But it is only waiting for us to apply our intelligence to it. Let’s get to work!”
Carver showed them how to make beakers and Bunsen burners out of old bottles. With innovative tools made from trash, George taught his students principles that would help southern farmers. His contribution to southern agriculture became famous worldwide. When complimented, George would answer humbly, “I only discover what the good Lord has made.”
“When you do the common things in an uncommon way, you’ll command the attention of the world.” –George Washington Carver
Adapted from Christianity.com & Ten Boys Who Used Their Talents by Irene Howat
Photo credit: ICR.org
The word prompt of the day is CARVE. I recalled reading and writing about the amazing George Washington Carver. His birthday was January 5th.
© Lisa M. Luciano 😊
My Word Soup 