Ruminate Magazine: Faith in Literature and Art

For the past three months, as part of my New Year’s goals, I have been reading self-help books on raising boys and on sibling rivalry, hoping to gain something helpful to improve how I’m raising my four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter and to decrease the amount of screaming-hitting-fighting-squabbling-yelling for mom. The books have been interesting and helpful (my kids are definitely more peaceful, and I understand my son’s impressive energy much better), but as I closed the third book in a self selected series last night, I had a wonderful and huge craving for delicious writing, for the kind of prose that satisfies a deep craving for beauty and for inspiration.  It was not unlike the craving I get for a well-crafted meal with close friends.

I have a running list of things I look forward to discovering in heaven. Besides the profound, existential questions, these include things like answers to all the questions about dinosaurs and having all the time in the world to either read all the books in the world or to just know them, as if I’ll have a huge computer catalogue in my head. Also on this list is hearing or reading the most perfectly composed prose, a series of words that makes my heart sing and my knees weak and brings tears to my eyes. Words that I will want to sit with for eternity, to hear, peruse and ruminate on forever because of their immense beauty. Perhaps this is a desire for what was in the beginning. I feel this now like an exciting energy running up and down my arms.

Until then, I look forward to finding a book or RUMINATE piece that will satisfy my ongoing hunger for the eidos of prose as I return to my good friends for a well-crafted meal in the world of fiction.

Alexa Van Dalsem, a grant writer by trade, writes short stories, poetry, a personal blog and, most recently, short movie scripts. In her free time, Alexa enjoys playing with her family and spending time in the great outdoors of her home state, Colorado.

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Marianne Coyne  - Out Of The Blue   |2009-04-01 14:14:04 Dear Alexa, I understand your craving for beauty and inspiration, I hope that the following will substantialy satisfy for the moment. Enjoy! Marianne Coyne Out Of The Blue Out of the clear blue the rain begins. It comes down steadily and straight with great purpose and drive. Not too heavily, but rather well planned for and evenly tempered. I remember wise words that sprang forth from the lips of my thirteen year old son. Nothing comes out of the blue, he said. There is always something going on behind the scenes, hidden from our eyes. I'm reminded how much I've learned from this young "old soul" -and the rain keeps coming down. I watch it press upon the branch of a crape myrtle and wonder to myself of the "rains" that have fallen in my life - out of the blue. It seems a sullen moment, yet refreshing at the same time. Rain does refresh, doesn't it? It revitalizes, cleanses, and rejuvenates - even in the midst of it's melancholy facade. A breeze persuades the branch to sway, like a beautiful, graceful dancer responding to some unheard symphony; shaking off the drops in vain - and the rain keeps coming down. The crape myrtle finally slows it's dance, too heavy with it's watery fate, and the rain lessens a bit. Then as suddenly as it disappeared the sun shines once more. I am moved to reflect on what wonders for my life will be suddenly brought forth, which presently behind the scenes are hidden from my eyes, and my hope is once more restored. Hope and trust - for who knows what thoughts are in the mind of God. Who knows what possibilities can be birthed from out of the blue. Marianne Coyne Copyright©2003 Marianne Coyne Reply

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