Time/Out of Ashes




	WRITE 2 THE HEART Stories that are aimed "Write 2 the Heart" September 11, 2003 Cheryl Speir, Editor, moderator@write2theheart.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to your latest issue of "Write 2 the Heart" You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription or a friend generously forwarded their copy to you. To subscribe send a blank e-mail to subscribe@write2theheart.com. ------------------------------------------------------------ Angela’s story and Betty’s poem emphasize that tomorrow is not promised to us. We need to remember to show our love now. ------------------------------------------------------------ Take the Time By Angela Walker ------------------------------------------------------------ Our family has not been close for some time now. We have not spent any of the holidays together during the last 9 years. When my stepfather died our family split. My sister and myself stayed in the town where we have lived since childhood and we have a very close relationship. Our other sister Traci, our brother, Paul, and our mother moved to another town about 1 hour away. Looking back on it now, it seems as though the battle lines had been drawn. We stayed in our town and they stayed in their town. We saw each other during chance meetings at the nursing home where our Grandmother lives. The only discussion was that concerning our Grandmother and her needs. How or why the spilt happened is not relevant. There were a lot of hard feelings and silence during that time. The silence changed on December 21, 1999. Our sister Traci was killed in a car accident at the age of 26. Our family was forced to come together to plan a funeral for someone we all loved. Making the arrangements for a loved one is difficult. But making them for someone so young is unimaginable. The night of the accident I went to my sister Kelli's house to tell her the news and her words were so powerful that I will always remember them. She said, "I always thought that Traci and I had forever to work on our relationship. I thought when we were in our thirties we would work on our relationship and be close again." She said what I had been thinking. Traci had three young children ages four, six, and eight. Because of the silence, we didn't get to know her children and she didn't get to know Kelli's children. We're making it a point to know and love these precious children. They are so much like their mother when she was growing up. God has given us a chance to know and love Traci again, through her children. We will not let this chance slip away from us. We cannot undo the past, but we can impact the future. The point of this story is you never now how long we have on this earth. No matter what the argument or who did what, pick up the phone and call your loved ones and tell them you love them. It's true, you NEVER know when the Lord will call you home. We have a lot of regrets we struggle with daily. We didn't get to tell Traci how much we loved her and how much she meant to us. We put our family on hold for nine years. We lost nine years of knowing and loving each other as adults. Break the silence and build a bridge. Call your family and friends today. Angela Walker copyright 2002 alwalker @ academicplanet.com You are encouraged to write to the authors to let them know what you think of their story, just remember to remove the space before and after the @ symbol. The space is placed in the address to protect our writers from viruses and email harvesting programs. Have a comment on today's story? Send it to: moderator@write2theheart.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- I live in Liberty Texas. I am the Youth Group Director at my church and I work full time for the Liberty School District. I like reading books and spending time with my family and friends. Traci's children stay the weekend with me about once and month which has given me a chance to get to know them. -------------------------------------------------------------- Out of Ashes By Betty King ------------------------------------------------------------- Twisted steel, twisted minds Broken windows of the soul Hearts in anguish a midst debris Cries of desperation. Escape not feasible The core is gone Spirits linger on In agony they mourn. Silent grief - wails concealed Wandering aimlessly In search of meaning Consequences linger. Death, pain, grief Wander faceless Through the streets Amid the rubble. Angels sing unheard God clue me of your presence Tormented souls Reach up for meaning. Scattered, littered, collected Search for logic Hunt, seek, investigation Where in lies the wisdom. Surely lessons lay Within, without Prayers asking, wondering Give us strength. God on high The flag does fly The Eagle soars Inside of man is more. Strip us, not defeat us A fire was lit Fan it not Out of ashes, rise victors – and angels linger Betty King baking2 @ charter.net --------------------------------------------------------------------- Betty King is a freelance writer, author of two books and is also a newspaper columnist. Visit her website www.betty.newsmoose.com -------------------------------------------------------------- Letters From Our Readers -------------------------------------------------------------- I love this story by Ginger, it is one of the funniest I have read! I bet that was a funny scene that night, to everyone but her! Betty King www.betty.newsmoose.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Military Prayer Reminder --------------------------------------------------------------- As you read over this list of names, please take that moment to pray for these young people and their families: Chris Speir Tim Speir Alan Thaddeaus Howard Todd Holland Graham William Julie Sagel Jessie Marshal Thompson Jason Eric Hernandez Kristin Danielson Ken Prieur Ryan Please continue to pray for our country, our leaders, and our troops at this time. If you have loved ones in the military, or who are being called to go overseas, send their names (first and last or first only) to be included in our prayer reminder. --------------------------------------------------------------- Cheryl's Corner For those of you who are unaware, Pat Lowe has gone to be with our Heavenly Father. Pat had been with Write 2 the Heart from nearly the beginning. Her comments were always a joy to read. She always had just the right word of encouragement. If you were feeling down, somehow she knew and sent an email "happy"” She had many online friends from around the world, yet each was special to her and she treated them as such. Truly, hers was a life that reached out and touched others, a life that exemplified Christian love. Pat Lowe is an irreplaceable gem who will be sorely missed. God Bless, Cheryl ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- © 2003 Write 2 the Heart Nothing may be reproduced or published without the written permission of the individual author or copyright owner. All rights belong to the authors.