A Bushel of Apples

Do you ever feel out of sorts? Need some context? I wrote this story during a very dark time in my life and after it was written shared it with a few friends. You can imagine my surprise when several months later I was watching a play, a one woman act and during the middle of the play the actress stopped and came up to me to ask my permission to use the story in the next act of the play, it was very flattering, and it gave me a new perspective on how my stories might touch people. Thank you Diane for giving the first voice to "A Bushel of Apples" during "In Light We Grow"
The Bushel of Apples: A Healing Story

There are times when I feel like a bushel of apples. All of the parts are neatly packed within the basket. Suddenly, the bushel is tipped upside down and parts of me fall, spill and bounce out. At first I feel completely out of control and scattered about. Then I slowly look around and realize that everything that I need is still there, although strewn all over.

As I gather myself together, I notice: parts are bruised and I set them aside to heal; parts contain worms and are thrown away; parts of me are not yet ready to be in the bushel and are set on a window sill for the sun to nurture. The most select, complete and healthy apples are then chosen to fill the bushel and make me whole again.

If the bushel hadn’t tipped, the bruised apples would have festered, the worms would have multiplied eating the immature apples. Eventually the healthy ripe apples would have rotten or been eaten. To be a whole healthy bushel of apples, sometimes I need to upset the apple cart to sort out the bad apples, before they consume me.

This story is from a collection of healing stories in "From The Eye of The Hurricane...

And now available "From The Eye of The Hurricane" eBook a collection of short stories and poems that sets the stage for, and provides the back-story for "100 Days of Giving"

From The Eye of The Hurricane available at Smashwords
From The Eye of the Hurricane eBook at Amazon

From The Eye of The Hurricane eBook Now Available

From The Eye of the Hurricane provides some of the backstory for 100 Days of Giving. My desire to give, share and love is a direct result of my experiences. While sometimes difficult, it is important for people who have experienced abuse in their childhood to have hope and to know that we can be in charge of our lives and break the cycle of abuse...as we emerge from the eye of the hurricane.

From the Eye of the Hurricane is a collection of short stories and poems about healing from an abuse survivor’s perspective. Empowering, sad, freeing, then hopeful the stories move the readers from the darkness of the storm to the light at the end of the tunnel, shedding light on what abuse survivors may encounter on their healing journey, and acting as a reminder, that you are not alone, we are not alone.

From The Eye of the Hurricane eBook available at Smashwords
From The Eye of the Hurricane eBook for Kindle on Amazon

From the author...From The Eye of the Hurricane was written during a very intense and difficult time while working to heal from many years of abuse as a child. As the journey neared completion, it became important to share the ups and downs of the daily struggle to find peace to create hope, to build connections and to establish an edge of light to grasp before sinking back into to the darkness.

Despite the difficult days, it was worth it, the cycle of abuse is broken, and I became the person I was intended to be, not the broken cast-off my parents and their parents before them created. My children have known a mother who has fought hard to learn how to do this thing we call life differently than she had been taught. I owed my children that. I am here to tell you that it is possible, although extremely difficult; it is our responsibility to stop the cycle of abuse. It is up to us to be the change we prayed for every night as children. It is not too late and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey. Kathy