
- Words Matter Publishing
- P. O. Box 1190, Decatur, Il 62522
- (618) 267-7404
- tammy@wordsmatterpublishing.com
- https://www.wordsmatterpublishing.com
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8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Monday through Saturday
Closed on Sunday
A Brand New Song
I will not pass this way again
Nor tarry here too long
I’m going to another place
A place where I belong.
A land where milk and honey flow
And the streets are paved with gold
Where there will be no pain or death
Where I will not grow old.
There I will meet my Savior
And those who’ve gone before
We’ll worship God and sing His praise
Christ Jesus whom we adore.
When I see the pearly gates open
I will hear Him call to me
I’ll look beyond the Jordan’s bank
And His radiant face I’ll see.
I will not be down-hearted
I will shout a brand new song
I will be upon the golden shore
Upon the brand new morn.
So please don’t cry don’t shed one tear
I can’t tarry here too long
Cause I’m going to another place
A place where I belong.
Have you ever met someone and known immediately your life would never be the same? That’s how it was when I met Brian. One smile and my world was rocked to its core.
Everyone has that one love they can’t forget. The one that spoke to your soul, not just your heart. At twenty-six, I had never been in love. I thought I was broken. Then I met Brian. There was something about him that spoke to my soul. He was everything I dreamed the man for me would be, with one major flaw. He was married. Even if he wasn’t, I knew he wouldn’t want me. Overweight for most of my life, I was shy around men. I preferred to remain in the background, never calling attention to myself. After being teased in my formative years, I had scars on my soul.
Brian offered me his friendship. I was happy to accept. I was careful not to talk much about myself. I thought if I hid my heart behind a stone wall, I’d be able to protect myself. I tried to be friends, truly I did, but sometimes friends sneak into your heart with no warning. I don’t remember when it happened. One day we were friends, the next I was in love with him. I tried to hide it, but I think Brian knew. There was something about him that my starving heart couldn’t resist.
For three years, I saw him almost every day. The more time we spent together, the more I fell. I watched as he flirted with other women, pretending it didn’t break my heart. Women were attracted to his sexy looks, but they didn’t know him like I did. They didn’t see past the outside at the man within. They didn’t know how much he loved his son. They didn’t experience his humor, his compassion. Those were things he shared with me. When his life began to crumble, I was the one who he turned to. I was the one who convinced him to mend fences.
When Brian finally said the three words I had longed to hear, I let fear keep me from saying the words I should have. In an attempt to protect what was left of my heart, I stopped seeing him. We stayed in touch at first, but as the years went by our communication was few and far between.
Before I knew it ten years passed. I hadn’t looked at another man, I took a chance and reached out one August day and he replied. The butterflies that filled my stomach and the smile I couldn’t contain told me all I ever needed to know. Like it or not Brian had my heart. He always would. Brian wanted to meet, but I was hesitant. In the years we’d been apart, I’d planned to lose the weight, but had gained instead.
The more we texted and talked, the more I knew I had to see him. It was like we had never parted. When we met up for the first time, there was a difference to him. Our friendship grew stronger, deeper. Brian is my best friend, my confidant, my soul mate. Hearing him say I love you can fill me with love and break my heart at the same time. When he hugs me, I know I have found where I belong, my home.
How can our friendship survive when loving him is forbidden? I won’t cross that line. I won’t be that woman. I love Brian enough to let him go. Will I ever have my happily ever after?
“'Crach Ffinnant' The Prophecy”—It’s 1375 and the Welsh people have been “long chastised, ridiculed and ruled by the English...their hearts, heavy with doom. A great prince is waiting in the wings, not yet ready to rule but well placed to do so. He knows not at this time the destiny written for him but will awaken to come forth when the heavens decree, leading the down-trodden people to freedom.” A dwarf named Crach listens respectfully as his master relates the prophecy but wonders what it has to do with him, “a small man in a much bigger world!” That’s when his master, an aging wizard named Llwyd ap Crachan Llwyd tells Crach his apprenticeship of ten years is over and he must go on a long journey to the land of the accursed English where he will ultimately serve the future prince of Wales and fulfill his destiny according to the prophecy. Crach panics and protests.
“Calm yourself, Crach,” Master spoke softly. “Do you honestly think I would send you on such a journey without all that you need to do what you must do? Keep your eyes on the heavens. A solution exists for every problem and it’s always a simple one. Justice always prevails. It is the way of all things!”