Tagged: Audrey Frank

For K, who selahs with me. When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. SELAH Psalm 75:3 On a high mountain deep in the Asian jungle, there is a refuge. At the end of a long red road, it sits like a grandmother, beckoning the bruised to climb onto her lap and be mended, comforted. Sung over with songs of love and healing. The threshold of this sacred shelter is dotted with tiny shoes, scattered like multi-colored flower petals. A safe place for children, the rescued are hidden here. They gather around a hearty table and eat their fill. They learn about the One who died to rescue them. They discover who He is and who they… Read More

They went out and got into the boat. John 21:3b Her house is gone, just gone. In its place is a garden. But when I stand there, listening to the creek that has not altered with time, I feel her front porch beckoning me. The swing sings on the wind, inviting me to sit awhile. I can smell the pungent odor of her marigolds, which she swore kept the mosquitoes away. I can see the sparkle of her blue cut-glass candy dish with the fancy lid, always full of cinnamon candy and butterscotch drops. It’s as real as it ever was. But my grandmother’s house is gone. Just gone. It was razed to the ground after a terrible loss. Nothing could ever be the same… Read More

Caution: This post contains graphic descriptions of physical wounds and may be uncomfortable for some readers. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Matthew 4:23 We needed to turn him several times a day to avoid bedsores. Before the fire, bedsores were something unfamiliar to us, something that sounded repulsive and painful, like a blister, something that happened to my grandmother when she moved to a nursing home during my childhood. But then I had to tend one, just one, on my son’s heel, for almost a year. So deep it reached the bone, this bedsore became my arch enemy, determined to drill its way through the other… Read More

My God, my God why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? Psalm 22:1   My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Mark 15:34 Honest praying is no insult to God who knows all. He knows our hearts anyway. Every speck. Every little corner we think we’ve shrouded with sheets of shame, concealed with camouflaged control, partitioned off behind panels of performance, He sees. So why not be honest in prayer? The Psalmists knew honesty's power. Jesus, the Son of God, dared ask His Father a raw and honest question in the last minute of His life. What’s stopping us? [bctt tweet="The power of praying honest prayers lies in the character of… Read More

Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring,     whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him;     they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady,     his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,     because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you,     because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above,     blessings of the deep springs below,     blessings of the breast and womb. Genesis 49:22-25 An old, wisened Jacob gathers his sons near. He still limps, and the memory of the night in his youth spent wrestling with God has informed his faith ever since. Today, it infuses his… Read More

For M, and all who worship God with logic. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6 I have lived among watchmen in many lands. Watchmen who keep guard at night, gates tightly locked, while families sleep safely inside homes surrounded by walls crowned with barbed wire.  Watchmen who wait for the darkness to give way to light, the magic hour when fish begin to leap from the sea.  Watchmen who sip hot milky chai before daybreak so they can take the sheep across the savannah as soon as the sun peeks over the horizon.  Watchmen who pace the… Read More

Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. John 21:2-3 Our obedience can pitch others into terrible trouble. Does this stress you out? It sure stressed us and our loved ones out in the early years when we moved to Africa and then raised our children there far from family and friends. It still stresses us out sometimes as the world goes to war and pandemics shut borders. Our obedience can cause others strain and worry, sending them… Read More

For my brother and friend. Thanks for teaching me to trust our Helper. I lift up my eyes to the mountains—     where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord,     the Maker of heaven and earth. The Lord will keep you from all harm—     he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going     both now and forevermore. Psalm 121:1-2, 7-8 Illuminated only by our headlights in the inky equatorial darkness, the ruddy, muddy road stretched steep up the bumpy mountainside. Summer rains had rendered the track slick and slimy. I bounced around in the back seat of the ancient Land Rover despite my lap belt and vice grip on the overhead handles. In the front, my… Read More

But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.  Isaiah 52:12   Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.  Isaiah 58:8 For Fatuma and I, the village was a two-day journey on foot. Women were traveling to the retreat from much farther than I, so I felt I could not complain or speak aloud my Western fears about sleeping on the ground and drinking water I hadn’t personally filtered. Not to mention animals we might encounter along the way. I was… Read More

Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Psalm 32:10 The steadfast love of the Lord is exceptional. Unlike what we commonly call love, His love will never tire of us. Think on this. The steadfast love of the Lord will never tire of you. The love of the Lord does not grow weary. He does not know compassion fatigue. The Lord is not fatigued by those who trust Him. He will not divorce you, ghost you, cancel you, or abandon you. You cannot wear His love out with your need. [bctt tweet="The steadfast #love of the Lord surrounds those who trust Him." username="audreycfrank"] Yes, troubles may surround you. Enemies. Problems you can’t seem to… Read More