Today is the day of salvation, this moment is the moment for renewal and change. We don’t have to wait another second, another minute…another year. This is the time for new beginnings—a new season, a new day.
Photo Credit: A brilliant sunrise over a very cold, snow covered Crystal… | Flickr
Hatred will only perpetuate hatred. As a seed begets its corresponding fruit, so hatred results in destruction and death. The seeds of love bring forth healing and life.
Source: Two Fires
Photo Credit: Peace | Peace and sunset in the wind flickr.com by Moyan_Brenn
i enter through the iron gates
holding in my hands
the remnants of my former life
slowly descending
into the valley of shadows
until surrounded by an endless sea of death
my way is haunted
by a never-ending maze of gravestones
but only one bears my name
taking the shovel in my weary hands
i dig deep
burying all that must be left behind
surrendering my past
once and for all,
i bid farewell to the old me
and i do not shed a tear
this will be
my final goodbye
a funeral for myself
i leave my grave clothes behind
and put on
the garments of life
i am a new creation
dead to what used to be,
finally letting go…
alive at last
poetry by j.e. fernandez
photo credit: The Ghoul-Gate | One grave in every graveyard | Flickr
The iron gates creaked eerily as she entered the Valley of Shadows. Slowly descending into the haunting abyss of death, she wove through an endless sea of gravestones until she found the one that bore her name. Fighting the fear that threatened her resolve, she took the shovel in her weary hands and began to dig deep.
A veil of darkness overtook the evening sky, and thick fog blurred her vision, but she did not stop until her mission was complete and the last vestiges of her old life sealed permanently beneath the earth’s surface. Leaving her grave clothes behind and wearing the armor bestowed upon her by the King, she turned toward the dim moonlit path that would finally bring her home. But the invisible paralyzed her from moving forward.
Cold hands reached from the barren earth below, pulling her helplessly toward the grave. Struggling to break free from the grip of death, she came face to face with the corpse she had buried minutes ago. It was her mirror image, only it reeked of her old habits and selfish ways. As she clawed against earthen soil, the lively corpse fought relentlessly against her—seeking to drag her into the eternal shadows.
Though she cried for help, she was certain no one could hear—and that she was meant to fight this battle alone. Weariness set in, but just as her vision threatened to give way to impending darkness, the fog lifted and the stars illumined a cross in the distance. With her last remnants of strength, she broke free from the grip of death and ran to the cross, clinging desperately to it.
As the corpse descended from the shadows, she remembered the book the King had given her. Holding it to the light, she cried out the words from the pages: “Behold, I am a new creation—the old has gone and the new has come!” Light penetrated darkness, and the corpse let out a hideous shriek, retreating to the grave, defeated at last.
Finally free from the clutches of death, she walked the narrow path that led home. Dawn broke forth in the horizon. As she turned to say a final goodbye to her old self, the grave was silent.
Flash Fiction by j.e. fernandez
Photo Credit: File:Glendalough round tower and graveyard at night.jpg …
i’ve waited long for your return
and yet things aren’t
as they once were
i search your eyes, only to find
you’re now a stranger
in my life…
who are you?
i don’t even recognize you…
shadows of an endless war
devour the joy
that once was yours
and veils of darkness
now consume
the light that once surrounded you
you are lost to me
what visions of battle terrorize
what relentless nightmares
haunt your life?
what ghosts of battle
forged their scars
ravaging what once was ours?
please…answer me
i walk into
your life’s abyss
and question how it came to this
for though i search
i cannot find
a whisper of what once was mine…
a fire has burned away the years
trading happiness
for tears
i must let go
i surrender
to the hands of time
relinquishing what once was mine
resolved to love you as you are—
heavy-laden,
battle-scarred…
fighting through the tears and wars
to help you find
what once was yours
poetry by j.e. fernandez
Photo Credit: lonelysoldier – DeviantArt
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)
Source: Skeletons
Photo Credit: Flowers by a Grave | These dying flowers were found resting … | Flickr
This Life & Beyond 
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