Based in the desert of West Texas, Amara Bratcher is a full-time student minister who also writes, takes pictures and volunteers with at-risk children. She has written a book entitled The Bridge That Love Built for adopted kids who have gaps in the early years of their lives. She likes her coffee French Pressed and wears her hair curly 365 days a year. 

the vow


taken from my journal
April 26, 2019
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

A pledge, unbreakable…
until I don’t get my way.
A promise, from now until the end of time…
or until a better offer comes along.
I love you,
just don’t make me mad.
I’ll stay with you,
for better? sure.
for worse? don’t make me prove it.
I’ll be true -
as true as feels right to me - most definitely to your face,
sometimes even behind it.

BUT
Don’t ask too much.
Don’t expect me to always be there.
A commitment of convenience - that’s what I’m after.
Jesus? Don’t press it.
I like Him on the pages, but not in reality.

These are the vows of the American church.
Tepid, self-centered, easy.
And I didn’t realize it until they were broken, a no fault divorce pursued by people who said they loved Him so much yet looked so little like Him.

checking boxes

35, a haiku