Tagged: Audrey Frank

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.  Psalm 10:17-18 Lament: a passionate expression of grief or sorrow; a song, piece of music, or poem expressing sorrow. Lament is an expression found in many cultures across the world. What makes biblical lament different from all others, however, is that its goal is not merely complaint and grief, but a reinstatement of faith in God. A complaint, a sorrow, a rending, that ends in trust. The One who created our emotions, minds, and souls knows that for us to truly trust, we must empty… Read More

for happy feet Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 There are seasons we run for ourselves, and seasons we run for others. I began running for me. Freshly back from Africa and spiraling downward into grief and large cartons of large Chick-fil-a waffle fries, I needed to move. To breathe. To pump out my… Read More

He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age. Ruth 4:15 Restoration and nourishment are possible for the young… and the old. But can this be true in the face of excruciating loss? Loss brought Naomi and Ruth’s lives to a halt. Huddled in hopelessness, they clung to each other wondering what to do. So many losses. The death of a husband, a father, a patriarch. Loss of home, nation, and community. Death of sons. Shattered dreams: the dream of children, the joy of inheritance. Cessation of the family name. Death of identity. Who was Naomi if she was not the wife of Elimelech, the mother of two strong sons and their beautiful wives, the prospective grandmother of… Read More

For my little sister. Thank you. By faith Moses refused…choosing rather to suffer. Hebrews 11:24, 25 I am tucked away in a beautiful place as I write today. Gracious homes with wrap-around porches, along streets lined with palm trees, face the inlet where seagrass blows in the gentle spring breeze. The sun sets right in front of my sister’s beautiful house. The rhythms of family life thrum around me each day as children go to school and return, parents walk fussy babies along gravel paths by the water, and toddlers squeal at the sight of ducks bathing in the storm drain. My family and I are in the space in between. The place between refusing the comforts of our old life and embracing the joy… Read More

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are. I Corinthians 1:27-28 The song of bending trees rose on the wind thinly, like sadness. Melancholy minors waltzed through the crisp morning air under steel-gray skies. It was as if I was eavesdropping on a composer while he created a melody to match the day. Soon the percussion of raindrops filled in silent pauses, completing the score. God was at His instrument, and I was His audience. A tree has no musical skill. The rain cannot read music.… Read More

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. Psalm 62:5 What is wrong with that lady? My daughter’s question came as we enjoyed a hike along one of Pennsylvania’s peaceful rivers. The warm weather was a fluke. Just a week earlier there had been a white-out when snow falls so fast and thick that all you can see out the window is white. In the strangest way, it reminded me of the sandstorms of the Sahara where we once lived, but those would have had to be called a “yellow-out”, which doesn’t quite roll off the tongue so nicely. But back to the lady. What lady, sweetheart?  I looked at my dear girl’s normally happy face, which was… Read More

Unless a corn of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24 The mountain perches on the fine line between winter and spring. The steep forest floor is dotted with tiny green shoots, leaves unfurling like a child peeking out from the covers in early morning to see if it’s time to get up. Scattered in the gray deadened brambles of last year’s life are empty seed shells. The abandoned homes of winged creatures hang from old milkweed stalks, their occupants long since flown away. Cracked and decaying acorns crunch under my feet as I hike the mountain trail, marveling at the ancient oaks giving me shade. Brave and strong, new peony stalks… Read More

  His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me. -Civilla Martin, 1904   Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31 God will go to amazing lengths to reveal His love to us. I have always wanted to visit Amish country. Once, when we were staying in Pennsylvania, I planned a day out in Lancaster. The fields are stitched together like a quilt with long fence lines, patterned with tall silos and massive barns. Roads have an extra-wide shoulder beveled with tracks from… Read More

All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. Acts 1:14 The suffering of our children changes us.   The last time we saw Mary, she was standing at the foot of the cross, watching a mother’s worst nightmare. Her beloved Son, the Firstborn who made her a mother, was dying. When Jesus saw the mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:26-27 But Jesus rose again. He conquered death and all the trauma surrounding it. Mary could… Read More

No Scar?   Hast thou no scar? No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand? I hear thee sung as mighty in the land; I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star. Hast thou no scar?   Hast thou no wound? Yet I was wounded by the archers, spent, Leaned me against a tree to die, and rent By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned. Hast thou no wound?   No wound? No scar? Yet as the Master shall the servant be, And, pierced are the feet that follow Me. But thine are whole; can he have followed far Who has nor wound nor scar?   -Amy Carmichael From Mountain Breezes: The Collected Poems of Amy Carmichael (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1999),… Read More