STORYTIME TAPESTRY

The Newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world

Special Treat ??“ Jaye Lewis

May 16, 2005

Broken Dreams 

By Jaye Lewis

            BOOM!!!  The explosion rocked the house and threw me against the breakfast bar.  My heart lurched, and I could feel it beating wildly.   BOOM!!!  Another explosion!  Then, in quick succession, BOOM!!!  BOOM!!!  BOOM!!!  The dogs went crazy, barking and howling.  My cats raced around, eyes wide with terror.  My heart hammered against my ribs, and my hands shook.

            I pushed myself away from the breakfast bar and staggered to a chair.  The air smelled of limestone dust and black powder, burning my lungs and taking my breath away.  Trees were wiped out, as though the Grim Reaper were gathering souls for the deepest regions of hell -- first, a seven year old pear tree, just waiting to burst into bloom.  The next series of blasts blew out the roots of my beautiful maple trees, and the bottom branches of a twenty year old spruce were crushed by heavy machinery.  ???After all,??? we were told, ???they??™re only trees!???   My trees.  My dreams.

Progress.  That??™s what motivated the devastation.  A sewer line.  My dream home blasted to pieces.  The next stiff breeze is certain to blow down the chimney and carry it into the yard next door.  The local government is slow.  The dust in the air has aggravated my lungs, so that I have had my first life threatening asthma attack in years.  Every medical condition I have has intensified, so that I am on more medication than I have ever dreamed was possible.  However, my family and I are staying the course, and we are thankful to have the peace of knowing that we are together, alive, and well.

Not so, for the people of Iraq.  Not so for the people in Israel.  Lately my thoughts and prayers are not for myself, but for them, especially for the men, women, and children, who simply want a peaceful land to pass onto their children.  That??™s what we all want for our children -- a better, safer world.  A land that is free from terror and war.

I believe, with all my heart, that there is a better day coming.  Broken dreams, like a broken house, can be fixed.  With time and patience broken hearts can be healed.  I have rejoiced with the people of Iraq over small triumphs and victories.  I pray for peace in Israel every day.  There is no doubt that we are trapped in a battle between good and evil, but let us not forget that there is innocence caught in the crossfire!  My heart continues to lift in prayer the peoples who have suffered more than I can ever imagine.  I pray that God will heal their lives and their land.

Perhaps in a new day, evil will be vanquished, and we will all live together in peace, for we were once brothers and sisters long ago.  Perhaps we can become so again.  That is my hope.  That is my prayer.  That is my dream for us all.

Jaye Lewis is an award winning writer who looks at life from a unique perspective, celebrating the spiritual and miraculous in the day to day.  Jaye is a Vietnam Era U.S. Navy veteran, who is married to a retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer.  Jaye lives and writes in the beautiful mountains of Virginia, USA.  Write Jaye at jlewis@smyth.net or visit her website at www.entertainingangels.org