She closes the door and leans up against it, but it does no good. She can still hear the cutting rants of her stepson as he shouts to the world how much he hates her, how he wishes his dad never married her, and begs her to go away and leave them alone. Sometimes she thinks it might be better if she did leave, as … Continue reading 2018: A Year For Hope (Week 3)

“I hate my job”, he mumbles to no one particular.  “It was the best way to put food on the table when the kids were small, but then there was a mortgage to pay, and college after that.  I didn’t mind so much when Barb was there to come home to – but she’s long gone now.  I’m old and I’m tired.  I feel trapped … Continue reading 2018: A Year For Hope (Week 2)

He wakes at 5 am, gets in a quick workout, and starts the workday by 7:30. He works hard and makes enough to keep the bills paid, sometimes with a little extra at the end of the month. His friends know him as a kind and well-adjusted guy, someone who has weathered some tough storms in recent years but emerged OK on the other side. … Continue reading 2018: A Year For Hope (Week 1)

Have you ever lost hope?  If being honest, I know I have – at least for some things, or during long dry seasons. I have lost hope for things longed (even prayed) for to have happened by now, and yet here I am … eyes weary from straining to see something emerge on the far horizon. Dreams that I eventually gave up watering, that now … Continue reading 2018: A Year For Hope (Prologue)