Listening for Hope
A Few of Life’s Poems
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Whidbey Island Spring 2008 My sisters went on a trip without me to the island our hearts never left, and they brought it back in a jar, that world in a jar for me. It is all as true as really there. Slimy, green-black kelp smelling like the sea, a sand crab shell echoing a scurry of legs, a mussel shell abandoned, a finger of driftwood reminiscent of playhouses created, the sand still wet from the bay, crusty barnacles clinging to rocks, displaced, a second chunk of driftwood hidden in the middle, holding it all up, and I can hear the waves and smell the air and I shiver, and my toes are in the sand, and I cry. My sisters went on a trip without me, but I was also there. The salt is on my lips.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Leellyn Tuel has spent her life listening for hope as she faced the challenges of life. As she walked with the Lord and read the Bible, she found both hope and joy. This book invites you to be encouraged by the poetry she wrote during these times of reflection. You may find yourself looking at nature in a vivid, fresh way with a deeper awareness of God’s presence and his character. Your trials may have the burden lifted by the hope offered here. A higher perspective can comfort your challenges.
About the Author
In May 2015 Leellyn Tuel stood before her class of second-graders in Kansas and made a promise: She would publish her poetry, just as she was teaching them to do. She began harvesting poetry from her journals, written throughout a lifetime of challenges and opportunities — a culture shift in childhood, finding a career, growing a family with a disabled child, mentoring women spiritually, developing adventures in teaching, and now care-giving for her husband. The act of journaling had encouraged contemplating God’s Word and his ways and seeking his help. Poetry became the language to express her insights. Leellyn fills the snippets of her free time with sewing, reading, word games, movies, swimming, yard work, and baking bread.