Alma de Color

  A golden afternoon where the airy cotton clouds sway and slide across the azure summer sky . She twines clover and long, delicate stems of grass into a crown of curiosity, dreams, fancies, and a young crush interwoven in the innocent circlet of dandelions . “He loves me, he loves me not,” spoken in giggling whispers as she speaks her childish chant to the breeze until her sisters hear and laugh; her smile fades to shame . A birthday memory tinged with his embarrassed shame, under the great big sky in the shadow of the cliff and the eagle lifted by the breeze, and the boy overcome by his wild wonder and curiosity, defies security and caution to leap on the bare back of the horse, heedless of the whispers . The horse bucks and the boy is feral, clinging with defiance until landing among dandelions . In the schoolyard and in the corner of the playground, past the time of flowering dandelions, a tetherball swings violently back and forth and the boy cheers while the girl feels shame ...

(Image credit to Kristel Koukoua using Canva.com Magic Design AI Image Generator, 2026) I see you, Grief, sitting there across the room. Your shoulders are dropped and serene, Your countenance, hidden from me by your impartial cheek, I know to be calm, patient. Sometimes, I think I've moved on from your visits, Healing and processing each new loss with experience, The deep knowing that we heal and life moves on. Then, a scent, a phrase, a taste, a texture, a sound,  And suddenly, Grief, you look at me with those eyes profound as the caverns of the deep, The silent streams of sorrow pouring down your visage, And I am transported to those moments, Those scenes from days gone by. Sometimes, the memories are mixed with pain and hurt. Sometimes, they spark deep joy and laughter. Sometimes, they feel like a sharp, twisting dagger point. Sometimes, they smolder and burn with leftover anger at injustice. Once the torrent passes and the droplets, too, have ceased, Grief, you smile at me wit...

The book of Philemon is a letter from Paul and Timothy to a house church in Colossae (modern southwest Turkey). Paul addresses the letter to three influential believers who had some leading role in the church: Philemon, the wealthy homeowner, Apphia, believed by some to be his wife while other scholars/historians believe she was more likely to be a deacon like Phoebe (Mowczko, 2016) , and Archippus was a minister of some sort within the body of believers there. Colossae was a city known for its syncretism (HarperChristian Resources, 2022), which is the blending of incompatible religious beliefs or worldviews. Verse 6 of Philemon states that Paul and Timothy are eager for the believers in that church to have “fellowship that would lead to quote faith [becoming] effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in [them] for Christ's sake” (NASB, 1995). This letter to Philemon has some background history. Onesimus had stolen from his master Philemon and then had run awa...