christmas poem

There has been so much noise all day
voices barking in tongues foreign
to my ear
feet and hooves on
cobblestone
dirt and woodsmoke
the bleating of a hundred sheep
a fierce whistle laced with spittle

There has been so much pain all day
My feet
they are swollen and crusted with
sand and dirt
My hips, they feel unhinged and raw
each step of the donkey sending waves of
awareness to every angle of
bone and sinew

There has been so much confusion all day
muddled directions
shrugging shoulders
dismissive glances
all because we don’t belong
and are a burden
Two, among thousands

My pendulous belly
rolls like a wave
but They don’t see it
They aren’t looking at me
even though I am lit from within
I grab the arm of my betrothed
with the strength of gods
crescent moons rising in the wake of my grip
I relax

We must find shelter, though, for
I am bursting and splitting at the seams
There is something of the ancients
bearing down upon my being
and I am going to break apart
I taste iron

In one desperate arching
I fall into the bed of a beast
It scratches and envelops
and smells like the earth
and I feel, at once, safe and scared
Who am I anymore?
What am I becoming?
I swell with Heaven’s promise yet
I am broken and tear-stained
This was not how I thought it would be
Why isn’t anyone telling me not to be afraid now?

It is in the moment of greatest strain that
I see it
The hopes and fears of all the years
All that any of us carry
just below our skin

When all that was and is and
all that hopes to be
rips
The night bleeds into starlight
Then, fists clench and there is a wail
and I lift Glory to my breast

Yes
I remember Him
I remember now

by Holly Grantham at SheLoves

Canada, I’m proud of you

“You are home,” he said when the refugees disembarked in Toronto on Thursday after a 16-hour flight from Beirut. To a man holding a toddler wearing a headband with flowers, he repeated the sentiment: “Welcome to your new home.”

Syrian refugees are flocking to Canada as it has opened up its borders to 10,000 by the end of this year, 25,000 by the end of March. Even the NY Times has remarked on Canada’s warm welcome to the refugees.

He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. 

Deuteronomy 10:18

Canada, I’m proud of you.

Addicted to Distraction

ONE evening early this summer, I opened a book and found myself reading the same paragraph over and over, a half dozen times before concluding that it was hopeless to continue. I simply couldn’t marshal the necessary focus.

I was horrified. All my life, reading books has been a deep and consistent source of pleasure, learning and solace. Now the books I regularly purchased were piling up ever higher on my bedside table, staring at me in silent rebuke.

Instead of reading them, I was spending too many hours online, checking the traffic numbers for my company’s website, shopping for more colorful socks on Gilt and Rue La La, even though I had more than I needed, and even guiltily clicking through pictures with irresistible headlines such as “Awkward Child Stars Who Grew Up to Be Attractive.”

During the workday, I checked my email more times than I cared to acknowledge, and spent far too much time hungrily searching for tidbits of new information about the presidential campaign, with the election then still more than a year away.

Read full NY TIMES article here. 

the music of sign language

Since coming here, I’ve learnt some basic signs, namely ‘Please’, ‘Thank you’, ‘More’ and ‘Stop’. They help us communicate with our non-verbal kids. It helps me remember that although they do not speak, they have thoughts, opinions and emotions. They think and feel and want to tell me about it.

This is a talk by a deaf artist about the music and sign language. It is incredible how rich ASL is, and its comparison to music. I cannot wait until our kids can communicate like she does!