Peace

 Good morning!

Is it Friday? These last few weeks have been so crazy and busy that I am having a very hard time figuring out what day it is. They all sort of run together and get mixed up and seem to trade places with other days leaving me confused and not quite sure.

As you may have guessed, I spent time working on the house this week. Tore out my parents' room. Now we need to rip up carpets and do a few other little things that haven't gotten done before we can start putting it back together. A friend of ours who does construction is supposed to help us, but he can't get to it for about 3 weeks. Pray that we can start doing things before then because the stress of living in this crowded mess is hard. My parents have to sleep in the living room, but my mom's "desk" is in the kitchen. And to get to the bathroom you have to go through the construction zone.

As for my writing, well, I've managed to keep the 100 words a day going. On Wednesday I actually had 30 minutes for leisurely writing, but I had to find a place to hide and do it because we had guys putting in a new AC/heating unit (they were here for 3 days and we were without AC for 2 days and a night) and they were upstairs and down. But I did find a place and got almost 300 words written and I got to reread my story and do some editing of it the way I like to do when I'm writing.

 Yesterday my mom, sis, and I went and watched my oldest niece play her first volleyball game. They won. They played again in the afternoon and won that game, so they are playing this morning. I won't be going. Sis and I are going to finish cleaning the house. It is so dusty and dirty!

And I have many other things I need to work on. And this afternoon my dad and I are supposed to pull up the carpets. That should be–interesting.

Today's story is the first of the ones I wrote from picture prompts at camp. Enjoy. Sorry it's rather short. It was either that or just an update.

 

    Isaiah strode up the rocky hill as his eyes scanned the area for sight of his cousin. He had watched Ember start up the trail alone, but that had been at least two hours ago. Where was she? Perhaps he should have followed her then. But no, he could see she needed some space, some time away from the crowd of cousins, aunts and uncles, cousins’ children, and in-laws, second cousins, and every other relative who had gathered to celebrate Grandma’s ninety-ninth birthday.
    “Please, Lord,” Isaiah prayed silently, “help me find Ember before it gets dark.”
    Mounting a higher peak, Isaiah turned to look at the sunset and saw, silhouetted against the sky, the form of his cousin. The trees, just bursting into leaves from the spring sunshine, stood whispering silently above her head. And the sky– Isaiah caught his breath at the sight. Pink, orange, yellow, and bits of blue all spread out as only the hand of a Master Painter could do it; their colors reflecting in the placid waters of the lake below.
    Unsure if he would wait or go to her, Isaiah stood still. Ember was dealing with grief Isaiah could only imagine, and he was hesitant to intrude. “I don’t know why you afflicted her in this way, Lord, but please comfort her.”
    A soft sob from the form on the rocks, send Isaiah down the hill to his cousin. Reaching her side, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder just as he used to do when they were kids and she had gotten hurt.
    Ember turned and buried her face in his shoulder. “I didn’t get to tell him, Zaiah,” she whispered, almost choking over a sob. “I didn’t get to tell him about the baby.”
    “Oh, Ember.” It was all Isaiah could say for a moment as he wrapped his other arm around her. “I’m sorry.”
    She sniffed. “I haven’t told anyone–until now. Except– except the doctor. I had a sonogram–”
    Isaiah waited.
    “It’s twins. Oh, Zaiah, what am I going to do? Why me?”
    “O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold I will lay thy stones with fair colors.” Gently, he turned so that Ember’s face was toward the sky. “Look at the colors, Emmy. God can paint even the darkest of times with light.” He felt her draw a shuddering breath. “And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.”
    Ember relaxed a little. “He won’t leave me, will He, Zaiah?”
    “No. He will never leave you. You can trust in Him, Emmy. And you can trust your children to Him too.”
    “Thank you. Thank you for coming to find me.” The words were a low whisper as the sun slipped to the top of the hills on the other side of the lake.
    “You’re welcome, Em. But let’s be getting back before it’s completely dark.”
    Ember nodded.
    Carefully, Isaiah helped his cousin back to the main path and they started back toward the noisy, happy gathering below.
 

Would you rather have a short story & update, or just an update?

Are your days of the week mixing up?

Any tips on pulling up carpet?