Category: Christian non-fiction
-
The Christmas Card
Today, the envelope arrived. Each year, with the beginning of Advent, I carefully comb the daily mail for this letter. NEW YORK, NY is stamped next to the cursive return address. I run my finger across the beautiful stamp, a rendition of a renaissance oil painting of Virgin and Child.…
-
A Million Maples or “What is it to you?”
I was walking in the woods this morning and felt compelled to pray for two friends. The crazy thing is, they don’t know they are my friends. I don’t check in with them like close friends do, don’t have them over for dinner or call them to tell them the…
-
The Sovereign and the Chickadee
Over the summer I have been sitting outside at my deck table to meet God. This morning, when I straightened out the damp table cloth to put down my journal and Bible, I noticed a chickadee’s downy feather. I smiled. Words stirred my soul… ~~~~ You make me smile. You,…
-
Bitterness
I pull up the rusty gate-latch and step into a soaked garden. I am careful not to rip out the thin threads of morning glory which weave through the gate and a large part of the six food fence. Some of the purple blossoms have already closed in anticipation of…
-
Cast Away
I was headed to the grocery store when I saw Mr. Wrecker on the side of the busy highway turning the crank on his flatbed. Mr. FedEx had broken down and was watching Mr. Wrecker load the truck to be hauled off. I wasn’t too far from home and wondered…
-
War in Paradise
No one is settled – yet. There is great commotion and fighting in my back yard on this warm spring morning. Everyone is quarreling, chirping, hooting and arguing over who gets to move into the brand-new bird house in the shade and who eats at the feeders first. The dilapidated…
-
Life
The cursed ground shakes violentlyThe sky goes dark – though it is day.Accusing foes stand silentlyIn awe behold the Truth the Way. God tears the veil – so all can see Rends wall that shrouds the Holy Place No longer heard a debtor’s plea Come! You who’re freed, behold His…
-
The Justice of the Mourning Doves
“The x-rays showed a huge mass and the biopsy confirmed lung cancer,” Erma said.“Heidi, I am not doing anything about it. I know where I am going.” She said it as a matter-of-fact. I knew it, too. It became apparent as we sat at the small, round table by the…
-
Just Five Minutes
(I wrote this this last fall, when my husband was hospitalized with COVID for nearly a month. I find I still need the reminders to slow down. Maybe you do, too.) I set the breakfast table for one. The house is quiet, except for the gentle ticking of the grandfather…
-
For the Birds
I grabbed the cold, metal garage door handle and pulled upward. The large, frozen springs on each side squeaked and the wooden panels groaned as the door opened. Winter sunlight poured over the salty grime on the cement floor and onto the garden shelf. I stood and surveyed the watering…
Heidi Viars 