Tagged: suffering

@audreycfrank Sometimes life, like a neglected garden, becomes overgrown with weeds. As I write this, I am staring out my window at what was once a carefully tended, intentionally planned garden of perennials. I designed the garden with the goal of creating a burst of beauty and color when looking out any of my home’s eastern facing windows. Sitting at breakfast, I could see butter-colored confederate jasmine blossoms, pink knockout roses, slender lavender blooms, orange tiger lilies from my great-grandmother’s garden, purple butterfly bushes, and wild blue violets. From the living room where my desk sits, peonies, iris, and heritage roses comforted my eyes and brought delight to my spirit. On mild days, I loved to open the windows and door, allowing the scents of… Read More

@audreycfrank Psalm 16:5, NIV “Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup, and have made my lot secure.” Everything that comes is assigned. Elisabeth Elliot called this the great simplifier for all of life. Our loving heavenly Father has assigned all that comes. Assignment entails willing acceptance of what comes, however. The Israelites wandered in the desert, all ate of the same manna. But many did not please the Lord and died before seeing the Promised Land. What was the difference between them and the ones who did? How do you explain the difference between people who have been through the same experience, but with vastly different outcomes? The simple answer is faith in God, trust in the One who measures out and… Read More

@audreycfrank Joy and sorrow are inexplicably connected, and stubbornly present in the human experience. I once saw a sight most strange, two very different streams flowing side by side. In the deep woods of the mountains where we summered in my childhood, the two streams swirled, separated only by a narrow, rocky ledge embedded in dark rich earth. One raged wide, its waters noisily churning up the dark and decaying debris of seasons past. The other ran slow and narrow, quiet and clear. In its depths sparkled gold and silver stars, reflecting the bright light of the sun. Dark and brooding, flowing beside calm and glittering, these waters fascinated me. While cousins and uncles fished, I wandered the banks of this magical anomaly. As I… Read More

@audreycfrank I was walking on a narrow gravel road that wound its way along the edge of a high ridge overlooking a sweeping valley. I am usually nervous about heights, but I was too focused on the journey to pay attention to the butterflies in my stomach. This was long before I gazed into the majestic Rift Valley of East Africa or the breathtaking vistas of the mountains and valleys of North Africa and the Middle East. This was a dream, and in it, the colors of the earth were strikingly vivid and the air itself seemed alive. It was more real than any path I have ever hiked on earth. I was with my companions and colleagues, and we were discussing strategy with intense… Read More