*This article was first published on Indiaanya. We’re almost midway through this year and as I look back over the last four months, I can only stand amazed at what God has begun doing in my life. It seems a bit surreal to say this but I’m an artist. It still feels extremely new and…
The Art of Tea and Conversation
*This article was first published on Indiaanya. How do you have a good conversation? That was the topic for this month and as I mulled it over, I wondered about the conversations I have each day and I realised something. Most of my conversations were very superficial. I was coasting through life barely skimming the…
When Faith Dies
*This post was first published on Indiaanya. 2021 was the worst year in all my 39 years on this planet. It ripped me apart in more ways than one. It tore through my defences. It attacked my marriage and children. But, worst of all – it disintegrated my faith. It left me adrift and lonely,…
What a Season of Loss Taught Me About Grief
*This post was first published on Indiaanya. Grief and sadness come to all of us. None of us are beyond its scope. It meets us on the road of life, sometimes blindsiding us in its suddenness, urgency, and magnitude. It leaves us floundering in a morass of pain and despair, weighed down until we feel…
Desperate Longing
Psalm 130 is a heart cry. From the depths of desperation and pain, the psalmist pens a prayer that has echoed the heart cries of thousands of God’s children down the ages. I love this psalm for its honesty and transparency. This prayer lays it all out there and pleads, this is me—sin-riddled and depraved—now…
My Sister. My Friend.
This picture to me encapsulates the sibling relationship – that unique bond, wrought in love, friendship, and rivalry that cannot be replicated or replaced. I have a younger sister and this picture pretty much sums up our personalities and our relationship. Her extroverted exuberance and merry amiability is the perfect foil for my introverted calmness…
Even If
My heart is so heavy. Oh Lord, I don’t understand the terrible finality of death. I don’t understand Your will. Why do some live and others don’t? Why are some prayers answered while others aren’t? Some healed; others not. Sorrow and anguish tear me apart. I’m sinking Lord. Now I see what a terrible evil…
Pausing To Thank
‘Five things I never realised I was grateful for before’ That was what I needed to write about. And it was probably the most challenging subject I’ve encountered so far – at least for me personally. After days of procrastinating, I finally realised that I had to sit and do it, and be ruthlessly honest…
The Solitary Journey
The path is narrow treacherous, slippery. The road is long arduous, lonely. The yawning abyss – dark, menacing. The shadowed valley – murky, disturbing. Eyes downcast; heart’s discouraged. Thoughts dismayed; soul’s disheartened. Suddenly, a shaft of light breaks through the fog. Myths and legends, swirl in the mists. White spires, golden halls “and beyond them…
Living Courageously
These are dark days indeed that we are living in. Every day more news of horror and despair, death and destruction. The life we lived in 2019 seems like a dream. And surrounded by all that is painful and appalling, that insidious liar—Fear—has been having a field day in my mind. Fear of the future,…
Things I’ve Lost
I’ve lost many things in the course of my life. But there is one thing I’ve lost, which has been haunting me over the past few months. It’s strange you see, because I never ever thought of it as being ‘lost’. What am I talking about? My childhood. During the last few months, faced with…
Pieces of my Heart
My arms ache; my shoulders sag. That twinge in my back is becoming a drag. I’m exhausted, irritable, heavy-eyed, and crabby. It’s been a long day of dealing with three babies. Dirty diapers, baths, feeding and play-time. Interspersed with too few minutes of precious nap-time. What constitutes fun for one, is anathema to another Heaven…
Last Time
It will be The last time Pain courses through my veins Despair drags down my soul Grief rips apart my heart It will be The last time Fear chains my mind Anger fuels my words Doubt shakes my faith It will be The last time Shame washes over me Guilt hinders my progress Disobedience robs…
Write
Write, I told myself Write, or you’ll go to pieces I already feel broken Shattered and empty What can I write about This. Here. Now. All that you see All that you feel. Write it, to maintain your sanity. But it’s too painful. Still. Let the anguish out Drain the fear Cut open the sorrow…
The Perversity of Inanimate Objects
‘The perversity of inanimate objects’. I read this line once in an old novel and it has stayed with me for more than 20 years. I wonder what that says about the author’s literary expertise and my impressionable mind. (Perhaps we can all agree that 15-year-old me was a weird kid.) Anyhoo, when I saw…
Risky Business
Won’t you let Me in? Won’t you stop obstructing Me? I see these barricades you’ve erected. These barbed wires you’ve knotted. You believe you’ll be safe behind them. You assume you’re secure. But is the enemy outside? I wish I could say that was true. You need to be protected, I agree. But have you…
How Are You, Really?
That’s such a complex question, isn’t it? It looks deceptively simple, but it packs a punch. It asks so much of you. Forces you to dig deeper. To examine all those niggling thoughts and frissons of emotions. To go through your heart, soul, and mind with a fine tooth comb. It’s uncomfortable. And I dislike…
Claiming Your Legacy
**This post was first published on Indiaanya **The following is a fictional narrative based on the story of Achsah in the Bible** Abel Shittim. Plains of Moab. 1406 BC “This is it. We’re finally crossing over! Father, can you believe this day has finally come?” The young girl stood excitedly on the banks of the river…
Be Broken
Be shattered Like alabaster Be broken Be willing To let go To die If need be Shards lie Cold Brittle Jagged Raw Numb this pain! Stop this anguish! My God! My God! I don’t understand. Yet, I know this In the shattering Is Immanuel God with me Holding the pieces So Be shattered Be broken…
Convince Me – Please?
Weary of struggling against You Tired of fighting You Exhausted with striving I’m done, Lord. There are so many ‘Ifs’ and even more ‘Buts’ Doubts are clamouring My mind seems to be in a whirl Questions race Answers elude I’ve been aching For all I’ve lost My heart hurts, Lord. Is this grief? This inability…
inkhorn 