God's Gift to You

-
Joy

Is a release, a letting go of fear.
It's the surge of a galloping horse beneath you, leaving the past behind
Your body almost floating above, as the wind blurs your sight.
It's the calm stilness of winter, knowing life is regenerating.
It's the sob of relief as you realize God was there the whole time you felt alone.
Joy is power, for it is knowledge that everything is all right in the world
- even if it's just for a moment.
Yes, joy is power, for it extends its reach into the dark unknown and lights a candle.
Joy grounds you in the moment, opens your heart to others, to health, to life.
Joy is God's gift to you.
Are you going to accept it,
or
are
your
fears
more
satisfying?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From the Other Side of the Gap

-
 I don’t know you, but I saw the red-and-blue flashes. A bit of open street before a long line of traffic, emergency vehicles stopped at angles where they shouldn’t have been. A black car slammed nose-first into a cement pole, white airbags pushing outward against the windows. People in uniform stood in the gray dawn, directing traffic, their faces grim. I had just left home. I was on my way to work as the sun rose behind me, listening to my audiobook, thinking about my new job. And then, just past the black car, I saw the twisted, charcoal wreckage resting in the middle of a neighborhood entrance— both wheels still intact enough to recognize it as a vehicle. I noticed where two police cars were parked nose-to-bumper in the bike lane, and through the tiny gap between I saw what they were trying to shield: the lumpy yellow sheet spread on the sidewalk. And I knew. Maybe you had just left home too. Maybe you were on your way back after a long overnight shift. Like I said, I don’t kno...
Read more

Horror Short Story: A Letter to Isaiah

-
Image
     This is a short story I wrote for a horror workshop class in my English Master's program at UTC. It is based on my experience in my undergrad program at a cult-like Christian college near a tiny town in rural Arkansas. The horror elements include an unreliable narrator, an extremely restrictive atmosphere, confusion, untreated mental illness, spiritual gaslighting, religious abuse, sexual assault, and murder. When considering what to write about during the horror workshop, I decided to focus on my experience at Ouachita Hills College, because I really didn't have to change many details of my experience in order to write it as a horror story. As far as I know, no one has ever been murdered at the school, but due to the realism of other aspects of this story, it may be upsetting for some readers. If you went to OHC or have any unprocessed trauma about religious abuse, spiritual gaslighting or sexual assault, please take care of yourself. Depending on where you're ...
Read more