By Debra Torres
​The young ladies and gentlemen in our high school’s prom court looked strikingly regal in their long gowns and tuxedos. 

Standing on raised platforms up on the stage, they created the 

perfect picture for the on-looking crowd of parents, relatives and friends.

I’ve been to a few promenades now, and I know the routine. The presentation of the prom court is always a nice finishing touch to the event.

But things went a little off schedule this day. And something happened that I think I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

By Debra Torres
I’ve just come in from my raspberry patch where I’ve been working diligently for the past few weeks.

The patch grows in a nice-sized square at the back of my vegetable garden and up until last year, it was a disaster.

You see, right along with my neatly planted rows of raspberries, the dandelion, wild aster, creeping charlie and assorted grasses grew. 

What I had initially hoped for out of my patch became a mangled mess of weeds that competed heavily with my berry plants.

And as a result my plants were sickly and prone to disease and gobbling pests.

Ugh!

I had several remedies in mind for my failed raspberry patch, including demolition, but never followed through with any until last year when a desperate plan popped into my head. 

By Debra Torres
The pair of blue jays excitedly flitted about in the white birch just outside my bedroom window. 

I have a “prayer chair” that faces that window and the jays made my time with God a little more jumpy that morning.

I watched as the male jay found a loose piece of paper-white bark and brought it to his mate. She then gently tapped it in all comfy-like into the side of the nest they were building.
            
I thought that’s what the jays were up to and, although I looked forward to watching their family grow, I couldn’t help but observe the construction process with a sense of dread.

You see, the birch grows just a few feet from our deck and more often than not three of the jay’s greatest enemies spend many hours there napping in the sun.

And I know that the sound of hungry baby birds will be like a dinner bell ringing to my fluffy felines. 

I have a friend who has worked hard for her salvation. Her commitment to her religion is admirable. 

She strictly adheres to its teachings, rarely misses a meeting and has regimentally shared her beliefs with countless others.

If she works hard enough, my friend thinks that she may just get to spend eternity in bliss. She’s got a great track record of service and that most likely will make her a “shoo-in” right?

Strangely enough the words of the Bible would disagree. You see God has flipped things around for us when it comes to salvation. 

We can’t earn it. It’s a free gift offered to all of us, and the only part we play in the process is simply receiving it.

I understand how people like my friend can fall into this trap. I mean most things in life work the opposite way don’t they? We’ve been taught since we were little that the rewards of hard work are great. And many of us drive ourselves into the ground simply trying to measure up.

So you see why the free gift of salvation can be a difficult thing for many of us to wrap our heads around. It’s almost like ...

​By Debra Torres

The lake was calm and inviting. 

And as we started out with our assorted floaties, I mistakenly concluded that the other side wasn’t all that far.

It would be an adventure, I thought, to take the kids over. We could say we swam the small, residential lake and had fun doing it.

And so, we set off.

At first our moods were light and cheerful. I had some of my kids with me and another little friend, and everyone kicked and splashed with their tubes and floats. What a perfect day.

But around the time we got to the middle of the lake, I began to sense we were in a bit of trouble. Trying to the get to the other side wasn’t so much fun anymore. We were all getting tired, and it seemed like no matter how hard we kicked, we still seemed to stay in the same spot.

And the other side of the lake wasn’t getting any closer.