imperfect prose on thursdays: the hour of love

so we live here, but also, there, straddling earth and heaven, and dr. cicely saunders calls it "the hour of love." the eternal hour in which we skin our knees in prayer and fumble with forgiveness. all the while struggling to believe that we ourselves are loved.

and then things happen. good things.

like your husband cupping your face as though you're a flower. your son, holding your hand the whole way home from the grocery store. your aunt, calling you and telling you she wants to take the boys--the ones arriving on february 10th--every monday, all day long.

there's the smell of a supper you didn't have to make, the bouquet he gives you at the end of a day that seems to never end, and the package in the mail--the unexpected one, the one that makes you clap your hands in the careless happiness of a child.

and these moments straddle time and space, these sweet nectar moments that remind you there is a God, and God is good.

you find the strength to be the kind of person that fights each day for love, so that hatred cannot win. so that fear is forced to die, and no matter the hour, no matter the trial, you learn a peace that transcends.

knowing that you exist for more.


man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow. psalm 144:4


i cannot fully express how your notes on my last post have held us up as a family over the past few days... sometimes i just go back and read them, to remind myself of why we need to do this. i wish i could hug each one of you. please forgive my slow visiting of your blogs... we have been filling out countless forms for this process, but know we are so, so grateful for your prayers and your love. xoxo



**please note, due to getting these two boys, and Emily receiving a contract for a book due May 1, this will be the SECOND LAST 'imperfect prose on thursdays' meme until further notice. next week will be the final gathering (i do hope to resume at some point down the road... this community has become so dear to me.)**



1. link up a post (old or new) between wednesday and friday that you feel is 'broken' or 'imperfect' or somehow redemptive
2. put the 'imperfect prose' button at the bottom of your post, so others can find their way back here (see button code in right-hand column of my blog)
3. read at least one other person's linked-up prose, and give 'em praise!

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Auto-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.

'sailboat' painting and prints by e.wierenga; available here