Reliving the Past

I have a challenging assignment due next week.  Write a story about a difficult event or series of events which you experienced.

Oh, goodness.  The possibilities seemed endless but I quickly scratched off experiences which would bring me to tears - experiences too fresh or too painful.  Of those left, one stood out: my first Bible college.

This experience - a one-semester-experience - revealed to me a major truth.  Evil exists in the world and it is present in the Church.  It was clearly a difficult season.

So I began by listing all the pieces of that semester which revealed to me this truth.

The list was long.

And now I must relive the past as I sift through the wreckage and select those items which weave together to create a unified story.  It is a jarring process.

...I was about to end this entry, but I don't want to end on that note.  I also recognize that God used these four months in my life.  And, in the midst of the evil, I found several people who will always be near and dear to my heart.  These individuals were the "good" which strengthened me through the long four months and gave me the endurance I needed to run the race uphill.  I will always be thankful for these people.

sliding

Once I stood
now I am slumped
in a pile near the floor
leaning against the wall

I crumbled
then was picked up
by well-meaning friends
and leaned against the wall

Slowly I slid
sliding down the wall
till I became a pile
on the floor against the wall