My younger son and his bride were able to hear the heartbeat of their baby this week for the first time and their exclamations as they each shared the news with me were all joy and relief commingled. As they eagerly await the birth of their firstborn, their hopes and fears meet as in the …
Signs and Wonders
I didn’t expect my fig tree to bear fruit in its second year, yet somehow it bloomed well past its growing season. By winter, I counted at least twenty figs. They never reached peak size nor did they ripen. The first frost left the fruit exposed on bare limbs where they remain. The people in …
A Mother’s Heart
My Gift - Artwork by Elisabeth Crocker with a little help from her mom Our kids made our hearts skip a beat when they shared their news that they’re expecting and we’d be grandparents, but their “don’t tell anyone yet because we want to announce it” left us anxious to celebrate and worried that we’d …
Real Live Baby
On Thanksgiving Day, everyone gathered at my grandmother’s for lunch joined hands to ask God’s blessing on our meal. Just before my daddy prayed, my younger son announced that he and his wife are expecting my second grandchild in June. I gave his hand a squeeze and glanced across at his wife who was holding …
Straining To See
My eyes strain to see the clock across the kitchen where it’s been plainly visible. I misdial the number to the insurance company because I misread the fine print. I ask my daughters to read amounts on price tags to me in the store. I’m in my fifties and I’ve needed reading glasses for awhile. …
Ice Cream For Breakfast
Thanksgiving means huge meals with all the family favorites, which unfortunately don’t come with labels. Potluck, for me this year, is like playing Russian Roulette with my insides! Since my cancer surgeries this past summer, my digestive system has been a little quirky. Suffice it to say, I’ve become aware of things that are necessary …
He Loves Me
I watched as my younger son, Jacob, twisted an apple stem to the sing-song cadence of the alphabet. As he approached the letter of his wife’s first name, he gave an extra yank and proclaimed triumphantly, “V for Valentina!” If there’d been a clover or a daisy, he would have split the last petal to …
A Life Changed
One year ago, I didn’t know I would be a grandmother and I had no idea I had cancer. The day before I met my daughter-in-law’s family for the first time, I had my initial screening colonoscopy recommended at age fifty. I wish I’d had one sooner. I was diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer …
Baby Talk
My grandson, Thomas, found his voice this week. He’s trying out sounds that aren’t crying. He yelps and coos and contorts his face every which way to copy ours as we talk to him. He is determined to communicate, and soon. God, who came into our world as a baby, determined the course of our …
Love Letters
I met my husband over Christmas break of my freshman year of college. We met in Sunday School in the college and careers class. I knew who he was because he has younger sisters but I’m fairly certain he didn’t know me until that Christmas. We went on one date before I returned to school …
A Fitting Reply 