Creative Writing: 50th Wedding Anniversary

Weaving through the crowd, she stops now and again to exclaim over voices she loves but rarely hears. She’s beaming radiantly, and I’m reminded of another day, another time when her eyes weren’t veiled in darkness.

As I removed my hands from her eyes, she gasped upon seeing her new home. I dawdled after her as she fluttered this way and that, calling back to me, “Henry, come see the garden! This will be so beautiful!” Then coming to the crest of a hill, she stopped. Her long, wild, brown hair was free and moving with the wind. Silhouetted against the glistening lake, she was breathtaking. As I approached, I saw her hands were over her mouth and tears were glistening in her eyes. She looked up at me and smiled, with all the joy and hope in the world in her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispers.

I wake up from my daydream and find her only feet away, feeling for another object to touch, another hand to guide her. She has aged so gracefully, with creases speaking of a joyful spirit. As she feels her way closer, I reach out to her and grasp her soft hand in mine. A familiar smile creeps onto her face, and I pull her into my arms. She holds me close and I know that this is where I will always be meant to be.

~~~


(image from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly8xs7OYil1r933wso1_500.jpg)

Playing a Bit of Catch Up

I has been a long while since I've written, which is a shame because so much has happened! It also frustrates me because I know that the only way to become a better writer is to read and write a lot. I've been failing at that lately, but it's never too late to start!
At the end of June, I had my high school graduation, which was bittersweet. I was so overwhelmingly glad to be finished, but at the same time I didn't want to leave my friends and the only world I had ever known. It was especially hard for me because I knew that I would be leaving for Nicaragua soon after.

My dress was fiery orange and red, just like the girl on fire. Not that the choice was intentional. However, when I made that comparison, I didn't mind one bit! It was fitted to the hips, with zipper for decoration, and it had a full skirt of tulle. Being around all my family and friends that day, all hugging me and congratulating me, was a great reminder of the way God always sees me, an.d the kind of love I should be sharing more throughout my life
After the ceremony and banquet, we went to the grad parties. Now there are two official parties hosted: Safe Grad and Dry Grad. Safe Grad involves the consumption of alcohol, so I naturally try to avoid that scene. The other I helped out with, by designing a logo with my friend, so we decided to go to that one. The thing is, we could only stay for a few hours. Her dad was driving the two of us, at three in the morning, to meet the rest of our mission team going to Chicago. So it was a long day!
The Chicago trip was amazing! There were close to 30 people from our church and youth group going, and there were a lot of people I didn't know very well before the trip. It was really cool to get to know them better and develop those bonds. A few times, we were given alone time for devotionals, and I felt God speak to me so directly. It was an amazing feeling, and God taught me so much! We were doing inner city missions, so we met a lot of homeless people. What a cool experience! I had originally been a little afraid of them, for whatever reason, but after having a few really inspiring conversations, I really came to appreciate them. In many ways, I think they are better off than me. One man, who was battling cancer and had no money to pay for treatment, told me he's glad he's homeless, because it forces him to depend on God more. Every single meal he eats was miraculously given to him by God, and he appreciates it so much. That is one thing that I have lacked in my life: thankfulness. I don't think one can be that grateful without such hardship. I am so thankful that God gave me those experiences, and I shall cherish them forever.
When I got back from the mission trip, I didn't even get home before my family and I were off again on marvelous adventures. We travelled around 8 hours to my aunt and uncle's house to visit them for a few days.
We've lived in Nicaragua for around 3 weeks now. I am really enjoying it! It still feels somewhat like a vacation, but I know eventually that will change. We are learning Spanish, and it is going a lot quicker than I expected. It'll be a while before we are fully conversational, but after 2 weeks of classes, we can have a basic conversation if we're patient.
Another missionary family chose our house for us before we moved here, and it used to belong to another missionary family, who just moved into the capital. The house is a lot bigger than we expected, and it feels so empty with our few possessions. We're hoping to purchase a few more pieces of furniture so the place doesn't echo so much.
Another reason we want a few more things around is so that our friend, Senor Geco (Mister Gecko in Spanish), will have some places to hide. Geckos are very good to have in the house, because they eat the bugs. The other family we are working with in Nicaragua told us that geckos become like family. So of course he needed a name.
We've been having some really good theological conversations with one of our Spanish teachers lately. He seems to be really seeking God, and while we aren't sure exactly where his heart lies (I'm not sure anyone but God can truly know that about a person.), he seems to be looking for something. One day, our homework was to pick a theme and explain it in Spanish. My mom wrote about forgiveness, and I wrote about love. After we finished reading them, he sat there for a while, not saying anything. Then he told us that the night before, he had been struggling and asking God some really tough questions, and that he didn't expect God to use our homework to show him the answers. How cool is that? God is truly working in his life, and it's cool to get to see that. We invited him to come to church with us, and he said he would really like to, so hopefully it works for him to join us sometime.
Anyways, that is a very brief summary of what I've been up to lately, and what God has been doing in my life. I can't wait to see what else He has in store!
~Brie

A Bitter Farewell

I have found that the best way to practice writing is through creative writing prompts. This eliminates the stress and pressure of trying to write a full story, because you can write as little or as much as you like. It's just for practice, so instead of feeling overwhelmed and losing the creative juices, you can relax and let it flow. Here is one that I wrote the other day:

Not a sound could be heard in the tiny, run down house, save the sound of forks on the ceramic plates, and the ceiling fan humming. Kain sat hunched over, scowling at his thin stew, as his mother tried once more to talk to him. “Kain honey, I just don’t understand why you would do this. Throwing your life away on drugs and petty crime? I never would have thought I would get a call from the station about you. I’m used to it with your father, but I thought you were better than that. I had such high hopes for you!”

Kain didn’t look up. His dark eyes continued to stare bitterly at his plate. His mother sighed. The lines and wrinkles on her face told a long tale of worry and hard labor. She still wore her work clothes, and her grey hair was falling out of the elastic that held it up. She gazed out the window and leaned back in her chair, deep in thought.

“Life’s a lot more complicated than you think, Ma,” he muttered. Then looking up he held her gaze, and said more strongly, “I’m not doing this because of you, okay? It’s never been about you. I just did what I had to do to survive.”

She didn’t speak. She watched his face for some time, searching him out. He didn’t back down; his pride wouldn’t let him. Finally she turned again to the window and bit her lip, fighting tears. Kain leaned back and watched the ceiling fan for a moment or two before he spoke. “I thought of all people, you would understand.” She watched him rise to his feet. “But I guess I was wrong.” At that he strode quickly out the kitchen door and never returned.

~~~

Surprise!

So if you read my last post, I can only assume you have been waiting, sitting at the edge of your seat for the grand surprise I have planned! Well, your wait is finally over! Yippee!!

Every year, my social teacher assigns us a main project of the year. Two years ago it was a personal coat of arms, last year it was a personal identity project, and this year we had to create a Personal Manifesto! I was actually really excited for this project, as I often am for any individual, creative project. My friends were all groaning about it, and coming up with the easiest project they could. So sad. I wonder what it must feel like to be so unenthused about so many things...

Anyways, since I love to write so much, and love to blog I devised the perfect plan. Mwah ha ha! I decided to write a blog! I entitled it: Ponderings and Musings: Some Random Girl's Manifesto. It's basically just a compilation of my thoughts and ideas on various subjects, and if you click on my profile on the side of this page, there is a link directly to it! How convenient! But to make it even more convenient, I shall put another link right.... here!

It is in its "finished" state already, but I will probably end up adding more as I live and learn. I hope to have a great representation of my values and beliefs someday! So enjoy! :)

Here's one of the fabulous quotes I included:

Quotes for a Thirsty Soul

Hey there! Life has been so crazy, with graduation and exam prep and planning for the move to Nicaragua, that I have been terrible at posting regularly. I've had so little time for anything artistic, that I feel drained! There's only one way to fix that! This time, I decided to share with you some quotes that I really enjoy. They resounded with me so much, that I hope to print them out and put them up in my room. It's nice to have that daily reminder of what really matters, even if you don't look at them every day.

P.S. Stay tuned! I'm planning something super exciting for the next post! :)

Always Winter

I've been waiting so long for this day. The very first day of spring. The day when the world would be fresh and warm and new things would grow. The day that welcomes back the birds and buds and blossoms. The mere thought of it is enough to make me want to frolic and dance. I was counting down the days, and eagerly anticipating this day, when a creeping realization came back to me. "Wait a second, I live in Canada. Spring never comes this early." Never has, never will.

I don't usually have this heartache. Most years I remind myself over and over that I can't expect it until at least the end of May. That way I can avoid the ridiculous song and dance that people go through each spring, hoping for warm weather every day, and being crushed when the blanket of snow falls. For some reason this year has been different, though.

I think I can safely blame this one on Nicaragua. When my brother and I both had a week off school, my family visited Nicaragua, to scope it out and see what it will be like to live there. It was wonderful! And beautifully warm. So we all got used to the t-shirt and shorts weather, to seeing green grass and flowers, then we had to retreat back to the snowy prison.

Our winters are too long here, and they drain us of our energy and enthusiasm all too quickly. It's enough to make tears squeeze out of my painfully dried out eyes.

Now I'm not usually one to complain. Okay, maybe I am, but this is serious stuff! It's frightening when you can't find inspiration and beauty anywhere but photographs. I keep imagining Nicaragua, and how my old house used to look in the summertime. There was a giant crabapple tree outside my parents room windows that was breathtaking when it was covered in pink and white blossoms! And I grew strawberries and tomatoes and sunflowers and rhubarb. Our acreage was a perfect haven.

Now, we live in a townhouse, and the view out my window has changed from lilac bushes to a half built garage. This may seem like a small burden to have, and maybe it is, but it weighs on my heart.

The wonderful thing about God, is that no matter how insignificant the hardship may seem to those around me, He knows how I feel and what I personally long for. He cares about the wars and famines of the world and He cares about the dirt on my window pane. That is part of the reason I love Him so much! <3

~Brie

Intimate Moments

Life is full of intimate moments. Those moments when no one else is around, and you're alone with your thoughts, or those of pure silence. That moment just before you fall asleep, when you're your most vulnerable. Those moments of grief when you cannot put up a facade. Those moments on a train or in your room or anywhere where no one is watching. This is when your truest self shows through.
Everyone spends these moments differently, and with different people. During times of stress or boredom some like to listen to music, whereas some like to call up a close friend. However you spend these vulnerable moments, you develop an emotional attachment to either the music or the friend or writing, in my case. It makes sense, doesn't it? We like music because it speaks to us and we feel someone understands us. We grow closer to a friend when they are there for us during stressful times. Falling alseep next to someone or waking up beside them makes us feel somehow closer. These intimate moments are what solidify relationships, and this is how we learn where to go when we need someone.
Lately, I've been becoming more and more aware of these moments in my own life. When I fall asleep, I usually listen to music, and it soothes me to sleep. What would happen if we spent all of these intimate moments with God? Think of what a great relationship we could have if we ran to Him in these moments instead of searching for alternatives. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that listening to music or talking to friends are bad things, but I think that in the Western culture we tend to use these small pleasures to replace God. To think that the Master of the Universe could be replaced by a human or a song!
Since realizing this, I've been working on setting aside facebook and youtube when I'm feeling stressed or overwhemed, and just spending one-on-one time with God. After all, He's the one who made me, and all the days of my life are written in His book. He understands me more than anyone because He made me to be like him. We both want to be loved and treasured, we both want someone to be committed and value spending time with us. So it makes sense that we should spend more time together!
I feel so blessed to have a God who is so big and powerful, yet so gentle and loving that He wants to be there in my intimate moments, just Him and I. <3