Tag: woman writer

Six Word Story (109)

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Darkness can be oppressive.

A weight that drags, a fear that binds.

Darkness blinds us, but light in concentrated amounts shone in the middle of darkness can also blind us.

Illumination is deceptive, when it shows only a portion of the truth, not the whole story.

If you are trapped in a tunnel, following that light can be just as scary as walking deeper into the shadows. It can be even more painful.

So what do we do, when we are faced with such choices?

Stop, and look around, what does the light show you? What does it hide?

Literally and figuratively the time we take to gather information is so important. Then comes a moment of trust that a light has been placed where it is for a reason.

Sometimes it’s impossible to tell if that light is a light pointing the way to freedom, or warning us. I can’t promise you will make the right choice if you take stock before moving forward. I have been blinded in this way more than once in my life, but one thing I know… Moving forward is always better than sitting in my darkness to rot.

Have you ever had to face a blinding light or painful truth? Tell me about it.

Copyright © Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (107)

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What does the word intimacy stir within you? For each of us it’s probably quite different, and yet the same, with flashes of moments spent with lovers or dreams of the ones we wish had wandered into our lives to stay but didn’t. But is that what intimacy really is?

I have learned it is only a small scratch on this word’s surface.

Intimacy needs have nothing to do with physical love or desire at all. True intimacy between life partners goes much deeper than alone sex could ever take you, and often the intimacy of friendship is much healthier.

It’s something every human soul longs for at our core.

Reaching for it makes us vulnerable.

Vulnerability is terrifying, but without it, true intimacy can never be achieved.

Have you experienced true intimacy? Are you still looking for it?

I would love to hear anything about your experiences and thoughts about it in the comments below. It’s a topic I think a lot about.

Copyright ©2023 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (106)

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I know the staircase has a landing, even when I can’t see it. There is no such thing as a staircase without a landing for staircases are meant as a road to take you up or down to ARRIVE at your destination.

Still, if I stand at the bottom and look up through the maze of curving handrails, it looks like that walkway is neverending. What a weight that perception holds…

I can feel it even when I know it can’t be true.

Perceptions, they can be so deceptive.

But that weight can be overcome by the knowledge that A staircase HAS to have an ending added to information gathered along the journey once we start the climb. Do we pass floors? Do they have numbers to tell? What information did I gather before entering the building, like how many floors are there?

By doing this, we can turn a 2-dimensional perception into a 3-dimensional prediction/map.

Don’t let the weight of perception alone crush you. Reach out, look around, and ask for help.

Copyright ©2023 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (105)

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I was given my first pair of glasses at the age of 5. They were purple, and the temple tips were made to wrap around a child’s ear and help hold them in place.

I also remember those first few weeks of using them. They were heavy, the strain hurt my eyes, and I didn’t like them.

But whether or not I liked them, I needed them. Soon I realized I didn’t have to squint all the time, and once I was used to the weight and the focus, my eyes hurt less than before I got them.

I couldn’t read yet but now I could SEE the words on a page and the letters that made them up, but only if I wore those glasses and chose to focus.

There is bounty in focus. But most of the time, it doesn’t come naturally, you have to learn it and chose it.

Copyright ©2023 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (104)

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Sometimes that last piece of the puzzle is elusive, hiding in the weirdest of places, or managing to crawl into the smallest crevice.

But sometimes, you’re just sitting on it. So get up and look!

But just in case you’re not sitting on it doesn’t rush the prosses of searching.

Sometimes it’s not a puzzle piece we are missing, but something more important.

Patience,

Faith,

Hope,

These things get lost too.

It still takes a pause, a think, and even a prayer, to find them again.

Don’t forget to take that time, and when it’s most challenging, bring a second set of eyes into the search.

Friends are worth more than gold.

Copyright ©2023 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (103)

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Safety is something we all look for and when we find it we hold on with abandon. But is safety always, safe? Too quickly it can become complacency and compliance becomes stagnant, eating away at us as below, rotting our foundations.

What protects can become a cage if we are not careful.

What preserves that balance?

The knowledge that sometimes it’s better to let go than to hold on. Vigilance, and an open ear, waiting for the words.

“It’s time to move.”

I don’t always hear them on time, often I even ignore them.

Do you?

Copyright ©2023 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (98)

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What sticks to you like glitter?

What small thing gives you a smile in it unexpectedly glints at you from a tabletop, or child’s cheek?

What makes you groan with annoyance when dumped in a pile, hang hangs around for months only to bring a tear to your eye when you remember that sweet soul you miss?

Glitter, I often don’t like you, but many are the things you can teach me.

Copyright ©2023 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (97)

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Life is a grinding down of moments, of mass.

Nature takes those fragments and transforms them into something new.

This happens with people too, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

It’s so hard to see past the decay, the destruction.

But if we are brave enough to try, if we trust God has a plan in the middle of grief, we will be shown immeasurable beauty and potential.

He made nature this way for a reason after all.

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (96)

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I am a woman who deals in words and I know their power.

Do you?

They have the power to heal and hurt.

Sometimes they stick like tar that creeps into every crevice, becoming impossible to wash away.

What do we do with such words?

I wash with prayer.

What do you do?

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (95)

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Have you ever felt the wind beneath your wings?

Those moments in life when things are going well and the momentum lifts you high above the twisting paths and stones that trip others up?

Have you ever felt tired in those moments of success?

In those highs, we are still working.

The blessing in them is that if we spread out wings of trust they can carry us far while preserving our stamina.

But…

Holding wings open requires strength.

Ride the updrafts, but be vigilant in watching for those places of pause you still need.

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Titles available by Mary Grace van der Kroef.