Writing the stumps

Psalm 15:2 “…who speaks the truth from his heart.”*

Barren River Lake (photo by Patty Perkins)

My husband spent most of his growing up years on a man-made lake. Basically, a flooded river. Every autumn the water level is lowered by opening the dam downstream. The emptied lake leaves a lonely river and a desert-like lake bottom. What only months before was covered with tons of water is laid bare.

For about 45 years this water coming and water going has been the pattern.

45 years of flooding has not been enough to erode stumps that were left when trees were cut down to make the lake. They refuse to rot away. Stubbornly, they stay—bringing their own art form to the winter landscape. Bare beauty.

Like those stumps, there are parts of life that refuse to budge. The things that tell our story. The things that make us unique. When the tides wash away…what’s left? What makes me different from anyone else? What are the things I have to write about that no one else can touch?

In writing, I hope to reveal God’s stroke of art in my life. The raw essence of life waits…just below the surface.

*The One Year Bible, January 17, NIV, copyright 1986, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois.

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