by Emily Wierenga | Apr 22, 2012 | belief, buds, emily dickinson, faith, family, flowers, God, heaven, hope, Jesus, katie davis, springtime, waiting
the birds have descended. flocking to fields filled with water, and when they rise their wings sound like hundreds of blankets being aired out in the breeze. they glint in the sun, these trumpet swans and mallards and pintail ducks and snowbirds, like guitar strings,... by Emily Wierenga | Apr 16, 2012 | canoeing, hope, hurting, Jesus, love, pain, return, river, salvation, spring, world
trent talks about the river like it’s an old friend. it’s pregnant with spring, and we’re canoeing its curves. joey and aiden and opa and trent, through the fields, heading home. we stop to portage over fallen trees and when joey isn’t talking,... by Emily Wierenga | Apr 1, 2012 | cross, death, disappointment, Easter, hope, Jesus, killed, Palm Sunday, sadness
Jesus was destined to disappoint.he says this from the pulpit, and i see her, the girl who sits in the front row with her mother. the girl with no hair and no leg, who’s lost everything to chemo, and yet, she’s in church.the children march in with palm... by Emily Wierenga | Mar 21, 2012 | (in)courage, conference, encouragement, friendship, God, hope, love, marriage, real, webcast, women
grandma jo comes on wednesdays. angela on tuesdays, miss carla on thursdays, to help me dress the boys and to read to them. they go swimming with auntie karen, feed chickens with judith, make forts with juanita, color with jen, and play trains with amber. other women... by Emily Wierenga | Mar 17, 2012 | bravery, children, courage, faith, fathers, fear, God, hope, love, mothers
my palms are rough and i don’t feel very brave, sobbing into them.trent has hurt my feelings because we’re both tired, and there are four pairs of eyes watching and it’s too much sometimes. so i go to my room and sit on our feather tick and cry. ask... by Emily Wierenga | Mar 10, 2012 | giving, God, gospel, grace, hardship, hope, more, prosperity
“i think God wants us to have more,” she says. we’re eating pizza and everyone has a kid in his lap and it’s suppertime at oma’s house. the trailer’s never been so full with seven boys under the age of five and we’re a motley...