Paper Cranes

We just got back from a family wedding. As joyous as the occasion was, it was a bittersweet day. The groom, my husband's cousin, couldn't help but miss his mother, who had died a year and a half ago. My mother-in-law, who filled in as advice-giver and dinner-coordinator, longed to see her sister's smile. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, the groom's siblings, and I all knew that the day would have been so different if Aunt LeAnn was still with us. My prayer is that this marriage will be the beginning of a new season, full of joy, reconciliation, and healing.

And I didn't think that I would be spending part of the reception in the bathroom, shedding tears with a young lady who was trying to escape an abusive relationship. She told me her story, and showed me the bruises, and I looked her in the eye and said, "You are worth more than this." She had witnessed a beautiful marriage ceremony and had come face to face with the reality that there is something very wrong with her boyfriend's 'love'. My prayer for her is that she finds the strength within herself to break away.

Bittersweet. Life shouldn't have to be this way.

Does anyone ever look into the future and hope for sadness and brokenness?

Does anyone gaze upon the face of a sleeping baby and imagine that one day she will live with a man who will hurt her?

No, of course not. But every day, people look back and wish things had been different. They want to go back to being a baby and they want to see their story take a different turn. And I believe that every person, every child, deserves that chance, the chance to one day look back and say, "My life took a different turn."

I wrote this song a few months ago. If I had the money, I would adopt all the orphaned, hungry, hurting children of the world, hire all my grandmother friends, and just love on these lonely children. 

Paper Cranes

She has a closet full of cranes

Folded paper cranes and wishes

She folds a new one every day

Sits and folds and prays and wishes

To fly away, fly away

She wants to fly away too

He has a dresser full of planes

Folded paper planes and wishes

He folds the planes to hide the pain

Puts on a smile but inside he wishes

To fly away, fly away

He wants to fly away too

And I want to take them away

Take them away from that shadow place

To where their creations play

Creation plays and soars

She hears the whispered tales of lore

Tales of faraway lore and wonders

He hears a voice he cannot ignore

The less he ignores, the more he wonders

She turns the handle of the door

The door holding all her cranes and worries

He sees the paper planes on the floor

Scattered across the floor and worries

And I want to take them away

Take them away from that shadow place

To where their creations play

Creation plays and soars and flies

Teach them to fly too