If Jacob was gifted cash for his birthday, he knew what he wanted before he ever reached the store. If he received a gift card, he was usually bargaining with his dad before the party was over, ready to trade it for cash because he already had the money spent. As my dad said of …
On The Surface
Twice this week, my husband’s late evening fishing has been interrupted and the grandchildren and I have needed to rush inside as thunder and lightning announced a rapidly approaching storm. The winds picked up and I felt the droplets tossed about in the air before I heard the rain advancing across the surface of the …
Like a Child
My daughter and my sister are kid magnets. Children single them out in public places as approachable. A little one may come right up and start a conversation or latch onto them unexpectedly, surprising them and the parents or caregivers. It’s definitely how God wired them as they both chose teaching as a vocation, but …
The Sun Is Setting
Daylight lasts much longer this month and thank heavens for a few extra hours to enjoy God’s creation, but once the sun goes down, it becomes instantly cooler. I prefer this early evening light and landscape to early mornings, always have. Watching the sun drop behind the tree line, veiled by clouds, is the most …
Steward Well
The last of the sunset was quickly slipping below the tree line when we finally made it outside. Each evening we feed the fish at the edge of the lake behind our house. As my husband and I stood watching after spreading the bits of food across the water, the larger bluegill began breaking the …
Long Suffering
Though one is ten months younger, both of my grandchildren have hit the tantrum phase hard. Having been given a choice once or twice, their little psyches have begun asserting their own wills quite forcefully in almost every situation. Squeals echo from the almost two year old while the almost one face drops and throws …
Wait For It
I paid the balance due for our vacation rental this morning. Only one more month! We’re looking forward to a few days at the beach during my granddaughter’s birthday week. It’s the gift her parents requested. She has enough toys already and she only turns one once. Lord willing, we’ll digitally capture some firsts and …
Labor Pains
I delivered our first baby, a son, before cell phones, instant messaging, text and email. My husband was enjoying a required educational seminar over dinner with his chief in surgery and fellow residents and interns when my water broke. He was all the way across town from our new home where we’d moved only six …
Known
I need reading glasses but I don’t want them. Instead I hold things farther and farther away or resign myself to fuzzy details. I’ve enjoyed 20/20 vision for half a century and my distance vision is still sharp, but as we age, our eyes loose the ability to focus at different distances quickly. As humans …
I’ll Fly Away
Funerals are for the benefit of the living, not for the deceased. Families may find comfort in the condolences, but the greatest comfort is found in the assurances of God in Scripture. I was reminded just this week of the incredible gift of knowing a dear one is eternally secure in the afterlife. This knowledge …
A Fitting Reply 