Blistering heat and palpable humidity has settled in to stay in my neck of the woods. Stepping outside is like walking into an oven, no, a sauna. I’m drenched within a minute. I’ll need to join the grandkids in the water sprinklers for the wet to actually be refreshing. The sun is shining fifteen hours …
All I’ve Ever Wanted
My mom and I were talking as we often do while I’m driving to visit my grandkids. Our conversation, as it so often does, turned to eternity. We worry and pray over the health and wellbeing of family and friends but an even more serious concern is spiritual health. I am 55 and a cancer …
It’s Not Who I Am
I’ve pulled my share of all-nighters. I’ve finished books started the night before as the sun came up. I’ve chaperoned teen lock ins by snacking all night. I’ve sat up with sick children while fighting stomach bug myself. The closest I’ve ever come to an all night prayer vigil was by the bedside of my …
We Are His Hands
Our birds enjoy berry, seed, and mealworm cylinders near our front porch throughout the day. These now last a good deal longer since we installed a squirrel baffle. The squirrels still stop by, along with the doves, to glean the scattered seeds that fall from the feeder to the ground but they’re no longer eating …
Without Love
Chicks were hatching as we arrived at my parent’s house to see the new litter of puppies. It was hard for the adults, let alone the grandchildren, to decide where to look first. Little faces crowded around my dad as he lifted the lid from the incubator. Two downy chicks wobbled around one hatchling who …
Giant Prayers
Thank You, Jesus Thank You, Jesus For this day And our food And our many blessings And our many blessings Amen Amen Amelia sang my Timothy and Ezra echo blessing over our lunch today. It’s my choice for asking a blessing when kids are very small. Their little tummies are short on patience so I …
Wearing God Out
My daughter and her sons traveled to and from the beach with me. My daughter drove. I take the passenger seat unless the smaller passengers become restless. Timothy munched or dozed contentedly the majority of our return trip, but Thomas, who is nearing four, fights sleep with words. His repeated chants of I wanna get …
Pitfalls
When I have a chance to slip away to the beach with my family, we nail down the date and I begin to search for the perfect accommodations. Each time we rent, I am convinced that this will finally be the perfect fit. The only trouble is the grandchildren keep growing. None of them are …
Sinking Sand
Timothy wasn’t walking the last time we were at the beach so when we arrived at the ocean yesterday and removed his little shoes and set him on the soft sand, he sensed the shifting and immediately reached up to his momma to be held. Thinking the water would draw him in, she dangled his …
Make It Stop
Hurricane Harvey arrived in Houston, Texas just before Jacob was scheduled for brain surgery that had the potential to end his seizures. Though he turned nineteen during his weeklong evaluation earlier in that year, he was to be treated as a pediatric patient. This would allow me to stay with him in the hospital as …
A Fitting Reply 