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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Beginning and End (04/16/09)
Forty Two years

It was only yesterday it seems that I stood, a bride at nineteen, beside him, his eyes smiling at me as we said our vows. The whole world lay ahead of us, new and fresh and untouched.

It was only yesterday it seems that our world changed in the miraculous moment of birth.
Our carefree days behind, we considered such things as life insurance and wills.
Still, our lives were young and free and altered only in the choices we made about parks or parties or such. Sleeping in, determined not by our needs but theirs, was a small price to pay for the joys of parenthood.

It was only yesterday it seems that we watched as they said their vows, and remembered.
The babies came, and we discovered that grandchildren can be loved perhaps even more.

But yesterday they said that you were ill. Cancer, they said. How could that be? We are still young, still strong, our lives ahead.

Yesterday, I stood beside an open grave, my heart not comprehending what had happened to the forty two years that were between the beginning and the end.

Love, here, must start and stop. Life, here, begins and ends. But in the quiet of this night, my Savior reaches down with unseen hands and calms my aching brow. In Him I am transported to another place where eternal joy has no yesterdays, no tomorrows. I see my love and he is smiling. I am reassured.
Tomorrow, I begin again, another walk, another journey. This one alone? Never. And I am at peace.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Patricia Herchenroether
04/25/09
How time flies, doesn't it? This is really a nice piece;
One little thing-
I would change the grave site scene to 'today.' I understand what you're saying, but the yesterday on the short sentence before that made it seem that only two days passed between the cancer diagnosis and the burial. Or maybe another sentence in the illness part would change this?
I love the ending and the simple 'tells-it-all' title.
Sara Harricharan
04/27/09
Short and sweet! I love the feel and flow of this piece, it's dream-like in a rather haunting way, because it connects with the ready and making them want to identify with having that kind of peace. ^_^
Loren T. Lowery
04/27/09
Beautiful story of love (eternal) and loss (temporary). The reader can actually see the peace that comes from the MC faith. Well done!
stephanie erickson
04/30/09
A beautiful combination of sweet love and heartwrenching trajedy. Truly Jesus is our all in all- we understand that life with Christ is difficult but without Him it is impossible. Great story!
Myrna Noyes
04/30/09
Very nice piece--poignant and well-written!
Myrna Noyes
05/01/09
Congratulations on placing 7th in your level! :)
Christopher Jenyns
05/03/09
The way it reads "this one alone?" really resonated with me. I'm going to cherish that question. All the hurt I saw before it... washed away. A true Christian testament!
Deborah Porter 
05/07/09
Hi Kathy. I’m running a little late this week, but just wanted to leave a quick note to let you know your entry, Forty two Years, actually did very well in the Beginning and End Challenge. Although you didn't receive an award, you made it into the Highest Rankings for Level 1, placing 7th in that Level. There were a lot of entries this week, and competition in Level 1 is always very intense, so well done.

If you'd like to check the highest rankings for yourself, you can find them here:
http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=25380

The highest rankings are posted every Thursday evening on the Message Boards.
Again, well done. :-)

Hope to see you at the FaithWriters' Conference in August.

With love, Deb (Challenge Coordinator)