Here's another one... this one I already wrote out, and Liz has read it... hope others can enjoy it as well.
Waking up from his slumber, Tellarn stretched carefully so as not to wake his mate as well. Lyssa looked so beautiful sleeping there that it fairly took his breath away. Lying in peace, the cares of the years had melted from her face, and it looked exactly as it had on the day they were wed.
Taking a moment to simply drink in her presence, Tellarn slowly swung his feet off the bed and gingerly set them on the floor. Finding his balance, he stood up and walked to the window. Opening the shutters, he let the sunlight stream in, nearly blinding him at first. Slowly, as his eyes adjusted, he began to see the surrounding countryside outside their modest home.
The young men were already up, walking to the fields, and the young women were spinning cloth and preparing the day's meals, filling the village with the sounds and smells of a productive day.
Once that would have been him walking to the fields, and Lyssa waiting for him to return, but those days were long past. Now the years had caught up with the two of them, Tellarn found it was so much easier to simply stay in bed through the mornings.
Tellarn turned back toward his wife again, remembering the many things that had brought them to this day. The good memories, and the not so good ones, had cemented their relationship and now they were inseperable.
Walking back to the bed, Tellarn felt a twinge in his back and winced. His frail body would not work the same way it used to anymore, but his mind was still as sharp as ever.
All the memories of the past flooded back to him as he bent over Lyssa, and he saw not the thin, wrinkled, white-haired old woman before him, but the raven locks and rosy cheeks of her youth. Bending down, he placed a tender kiss on her perfect lips, startling her awake.
Lifting her hand with his, Tellarn bowed awkwardly before his bride of many years. "Come my love, let us greet the day together," he said, drawing her to her feet, and together they traversed the familiar steps from bedside to window, hand in hand and heart in heart, as they had always done.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
End of the Day - an original short story
Ted had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn't alone in the room, but he couldn't see a thing in the utter darkness. He had just finished a particularly grueling shift at the plant, and coming home to rest was all he had on his mind. He and Amy had been in the middle of an argument when he left, and it had grated on him all day. He had no idea how to make her see his point, and for the life of him he couldn't understand where she was coming from.
Their conflict had put a negative spin on everything that had happened that day, from the morning commute to his boss's requests, to his having to work late and miss dinner. Now he was doing his best to enter the house quietly so as not to wake Amy, tired as he was Ted didn't think he could stand any more arguing.
When he first left for work, his mind had been busy constructing ways to convince Amy of his rightness, but now he felt that it didn't matter who was right or not. All he wanted was to find solace in her arms. He didn't know if she would forgive him, if she would even want to talk to him, or if she would continue the argument where they left off.
Finding the kitchen light switch, Ted gently turned the dimmer to see Amy sleeping in one of the chairs, her head resting on the table, her hair flowing over one arm onto a note she must have written. She had such a peaceful smile on her face that Ted didn't want to disturb her. Sneaking the note out from under her arm, he began to read:
Their conflict had put a negative spin on everything that had happened that day, from the morning commute to his boss's requests, to his having to work late and miss dinner. Now he was doing his best to enter the house quietly so as not to wake Amy, tired as he was Ted didn't think he could stand any more arguing.
When he first left for work, his mind had been busy constructing ways to convince Amy of his rightness, but now he felt that it didn't matter who was right or not. All he wanted was to find solace in her arms. He didn't know if she would forgive him, if she would even want to talk to him, or if she would continue the argument where they left off.
Finding the kitchen light switch, Ted gently turned the dimmer to see Amy sleeping in one of the chairs, her head resting on the table, her hair flowing over one arm onto a note she must have written. She had such a peaceful smile on her face that Ted didn't want to disturb her. Sneaking the note out from under her arm, he began to read:
My dear Ted, I wanted to stay up and see you, but it's getting late. I think I'm going to fall asleep pretty soon, but I want you to know this tonight - I love you. We may have our differences, but nothing can end my love for you. Thinking of your smile always cheers me up, and hearing your voice sweeps away my cares. I know we'll work through this, the way we've worked through things in the past, and we'll be stronger for it. Good night my love, never forget how much I love you! - Amy
Setting the note back on the table, Ted felt his chest heave as silent sobs shook him. All this time he had been worried, and she had only been concerned for him! The cares of the day were replaced with relief, and love swelled within him for this wonderful woman.
Ted lifted Amy's head to give her a kiss, and he saw the lines of tears tracing her cheeks. Suddenly tears began to flow from his eyes as well. Taking Amy in his arms, Ted wiped the tear tracks from her face, and suddenly he felt her stir slightly and murmur his name.
Kissing her lightly, he whispered, "Amy, my love, I'm here. You must be so tired, let's head to bed. I love you." A moment went by, and he thought of one more thing that needed to be said, "I'm sorry."
They stood together, and Ted steadied Amy as he guided her out of the kitchen, her head resting on his shoulder. As they lay down in bed and his wife snuggled closer, Ted knew there was nowhere else he'd rather be, and nothing else he would rather do, than be there in that moment with Amy.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Maybe I Should Start Blogging Again...
Hello... after almost 4 years, another post... I guess I'm nothing if not methodical... but most of all, I'm nothing if I'm not in God's hands.
Truth. The whole purpose of creating this blog, years ago, and the reason behind all that has transpired over the last four years, is the search for truth.
I have slowly, and sometimes painfully, been discovering the truth, bit by bit, over the last few years. The truth about myself has been the most painful at times... but I would not have myself living a comfortable lie.
Today's post will be all about truth. Some would say that truth does not exist... but are they sure that's true? Ah, the conundrum. That is self-defeating logic at its finest... and yet people choose to rest on those rotting laurels as if they're victorious... "what's true for you may not be true for me" they say... and while I like ketchup, they may not... but the truth is still, even to them, that I like ketchup. So while opinions may differ, truth is still truth... and yes, it is possible to know that truth... and, as I've discovered in my own life... "the truth shall set you free."
My thoughts are circling around and around right now, but at the moment they rest on what I'll call self-truth... being honest with yourself... admitting the truth about yourself, to yourself. Here in North America, we are experts at fooling ourself. We choose to believe blatant lies rather than seek the truth, simply because it's more convenient, comfortable, or popular. I'll look at those three rationalizations in a moment, but first I want to address the fact that we ARE fooling ourselves. What is the point of doing so? What of value does it gain us? Are we "gaining the whole world and yet losing our soul"? And if we don't want to be taken in by others, why would we let ourselves get away with bamboozling us? Don't we want to improve? Don't we want freedom? Don't we want an actual life, rather than the unreasonable facsimile we provide ourselves with? Now back to the rationalizations:
1. Convenience: Since when has anything worthwhile been convenient? The struggle is important, it tells us that what we're working toward is important, because it cost us something.
2. Comfort: Our comfort in the moment seems to be all-encompassing... but if we slept everyday, never going in to work, just because it was comfortable, sooner or later we'd have to realize the truth that not going in to the job means no job, which means no pay... which means no bed to sleep in. Not very comfortable in the end.
3. Popularity: BOOOO! What child hasn't heard his or her mother ask, "If all your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you do it too?" I'm not talking base jumping here either.
It's easy to point at our society and say, "Ah, but it's not my fault! Our society values these three things, often above all else. I'm merely a product of my environment." You know what? I hate that about our society, although there are some advantages to it... and I do like being catered to... being comfortable... being popular... but so many lies are pumped out at us based on those things that it makes me sick. Our culture says things like, "Everyone's beautiful... as long as they buy our new beauty product!" or, "Wear our body spray, and everyone will be attracted to you." or, "This new truck will give you self-confidence." What a load of bull! But I won't get into ranting about our society any further at the moment... right now I'm still talking about self-truth.
It would be easy to blame our society... but we are the ones who let ourselves be deceived. We choose to shut off our minds, remove our brains, and simply believe the information we are fed without testing to see if it's in fact true. Why do we reject the hard questions? Because we fear the answers we may get... especially about ourselves. Well, since I know that God loves me, and I've been discovering how deep and abiding that love is, I've been learning that "perfect love drives out all fear". That includes, slowly but surely, the fear of finding out uncomfortable truth about myself...
The truth about me is... I need improvement. We all do, and anyone who says, "I'm fine where I am" is lying to themself. I know that as I have been seeking God, He has been bringing about changes in me that I could have hardly hoped for, and I certainly wouldn't have changed if I couldn't admit that I was wrong. That's why He started by helping me learn how to admit when I'm wrong. I used to act as though I was always right... since I've been learning to admit when I'm wrong... and be honest with myself, and about my faults, and learn from God how to improve... I've had my best friend tell me that I'm always right... as a compliment. Now knowing what I know about myself, I can only give glory to God for that... you see, I'm being honest with myself.
I don't have the time or space here to get into all the awesome ramifications of living a life of personal honesty (a better term, I've decided, for self-truth). Let me just say that no matter how complex life gets, it's always simpler when you're always honest. You don't ever have to remember which lie you told to who, who thinks what about you that you need to keep up pretenses about, that sort of thing. And the obvious place to start practicing honesty is with yourself. When you practice honesty, you also desire it, and it only makes sense to tell yourself the truth. It might be hard, but you're doing it for your own good.
Let me wrap up this post with a lot left to say... I don't know where to begin, or even if I will on this blog... but let me leave you with a challenge to be honest. Let your word be your word, even and especially to yourself, be honest with God, others, and yourself. You know that you deserve the truth... so why not give it to yourself? Why not challenge your preconceptions and the things you've always assumed... and if they are true, they can hold up to that kind of test, but if not... let the lies fall by the wayside.
My prayer for anyone who reads this is that they would truly live life... and that they would live life truly.
Andrew
Truth. The whole purpose of creating this blog, years ago, and the reason behind all that has transpired over the last four years, is the search for truth.
I have slowly, and sometimes painfully, been discovering the truth, bit by bit, over the last few years. The truth about myself has been the most painful at times... but I would not have myself living a comfortable lie.
Today's post will be all about truth. Some would say that truth does not exist... but are they sure that's true? Ah, the conundrum. That is self-defeating logic at its finest... and yet people choose to rest on those rotting laurels as if they're victorious... "what's true for you may not be true for me" they say... and while I like ketchup, they may not... but the truth is still, even to them, that I like ketchup. So while opinions may differ, truth is still truth... and yes, it is possible to know that truth... and, as I've discovered in my own life... "the truth shall set you free."
My thoughts are circling around and around right now, but at the moment they rest on what I'll call self-truth... being honest with yourself... admitting the truth about yourself, to yourself. Here in North America, we are experts at fooling ourself. We choose to believe blatant lies rather than seek the truth, simply because it's more convenient, comfortable, or popular. I'll look at those three rationalizations in a moment, but first I want to address the fact that we ARE fooling ourselves. What is the point of doing so? What of value does it gain us? Are we "gaining the whole world and yet losing our soul"? And if we don't want to be taken in by others, why would we let ourselves get away with bamboozling us? Don't we want to improve? Don't we want freedom? Don't we want an actual life, rather than the unreasonable facsimile we provide ourselves with? Now back to the rationalizations:
1. Convenience: Since when has anything worthwhile been convenient? The struggle is important, it tells us that what we're working toward is important, because it cost us something.
2. Comfort: Our comfort in the moment seems to be all-encompassing... but if we slept everyday, never going in to work, just because it was comfortable, sooner or later we'd have to realize the truth that not going in to the job means no job, which means no pay... which means no bed to sleep in. Not very comfortable in the end.
3. Popularity: BOOOO! What child hasn't heard his or her mother ask, "If all your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you do it too?" I'm not talking base jumping here either.
It's easy to point at our society and say, "Ah, but it's not my fault! Our society values these three things, often above all else. I'm merely a product of my environment." You know what? I hate that about our society, although there are some advantages to it... and I do like being catered to... being comfortable... being popular... but so many lies are pumped out at us based on those things that it makes me sick. Our culture says things like, "Everyone's beautiful... as long as they buy our new beauty product!" or, "Wear our body spray, and everyone will be attracted to you." or, "This new truck will give you self-confidence." What a load of bull! But I won't get into ranting about our society any further at the moment... right now I'm still talking about self-truth.
It would be easy to blame our society... but we are the ones who let ourselves be deceived. We choose to shut off our minds, remove our brains, and simply believe the information we are fed without testing to see if it's in fact true. Why do we reject the hard questions? Because we fear the answers we may get... especially about ourselves. Well, since I know that God loves me, and I've been discovering how deep and abiding that love is, I've been learning that "perfect love drives out all fear". That includes, slowly but surely, the fear of finding out uncomfortable truth about myself...
The truth about me is... I need improvement. We all do, and anyone who says, "I'm fine where I am" is lying to themself. I know that as I have been seeking God, He has been bringing about changes in me that I could have hardly hoped for, and I certainly wouldn't have changed if I couldn't admit that I was wrong. That's why He started by helping me learn how to admit when I'm wrong. I used to act as though I was always right... since I've been learning to admit when I'm wrong... and be honest with myself, and about my faults, and learn from God how to improve... I've had my best friend tell me that I'm always right... as a compliment. Now knowing what I know about myself, I can only give glory to God for that... you see, I'm being honest with myself.
I don't have the time or space here to get into all the awesome ramifications of living a life of personal honesty (a better term, I've decided, for self-truth). Let me just say that no matter how complex life gets, it's always simpler when you're always honest. You don't ever have to remember which lie you told to who, who thinks what about you that you need to keep up pretenses about, that sort of thing. And the obvious place to start practicing honesty is with yourself. When you practice honesty, you also desire it, and it only makes sense to tell yourself the truth. It might be hard, but you're doing it for your own good.
Let me wrap up this post with a lot left to say... I don't know where to begin, or even if I will on this blog... but let me leave you with a challenge to be honest. Let your word be your word, even and especially to yourself, be honest with God, others, and yourself. You know that you deserve the truth... so why not give it to yourself? Why not challenge your preconceptions and the things you've always assumed... and if they are true, they can hold up to that kind of test, but if not... let the lies fall by the wayside.
My prayer for anyone who reads this is that they would truly live life... and that they would live life truly.
Andrew
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)