I stood in the children’s book aisle reading the latest offering of board books, three month old Amelia sleeping in her carrier next to my heart. Each time I reached to a lower shelf, she stirred restlessly. I was beginning to feel the same way, as if I was being stirred from slumber as well. …
Impress Them
My precious sister loves my children well, loves them like her own, even before she had two girls of her own. She and my daughter are very much alike as God designed them. Both taught 5th grade for three years before staying home with children. Both love to bake and their love language is giving …
Trust Fall
As I sat rocking her, my granddaughter, Amelia, jerked suddenly, enough to wake herself from a sound sleep. As I tried to soothe her, an image from the past appeared vividly in my mind. My husband and I were at summer camp with our kids and the teens from our church. Our group was divided …
Missed My Window
I’ve only experienced Black Friday in the early hours just after midnight once. Though it’s largely online now and spans several weeks leading up to and beyond the Friday after Thanksgiving, I remember a time when I avoided it at all costs. Then my daughter, in her early teens, began hearing from her friends about …
Meaning(Full) Life
I sat with my dad on the eve of a second heart surgery. His thirteen year old replacement valve now needs replacing. We talked about his great-grandchildren and how quickly they’re growing. We caught up on the day to day and tried to solve the world’s problems, but I could sense what was really on …
Seeing With Fresh Eyes
My niece, Anna, ran for her phone to take a picture of the red skyline above the lake in my backyard tonight. She snagged her sister by the arm on her way out the door. Hearing them exclaim over the beauty of the sunset reminded me of how many times I’ve been stopped in my …
Where is your Damascus?
The spring of my daughter’s wedding, she asked if we could ride the Virginia Creeper Trail together. We traveled to Damascus, the midpoint of the thirty-five mile trail, rented bikes and chartered a lift to the trailhead seventeen miles up in Whitetop. That first year was perfectly magical! We shared a quaint little room in …
Focus Forward
As I drove home from visiting my daughter in the mountains earlier this evening, I watched the sun setting. My southeastern route meandered through the foothills and the pinks and oranges of dusk stayed to my right until one winding section placed the western sky right in front of me. This is the view I …
Making Much of My God in Every Moment :: A Fitting Reply
My interest in writing found its earliest expression in my high school journalism classes. The passionate and energetic teacher coupled with a newfound friend group led to my first college visit, the school of journalism at the state university during my senior year, and eventually to declaring English as my major when I enrolled as …
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Eavesdropping
I thought I heard my granddaughter stirring in her crib as I brushed my teeth in the guest bath across from her room. I stood outside her door, holding my breath to listen, as I’ve done hundreds of times before with my own children. I waited for the sound of her rhythmic breathing before heading …
A Fitting Reply 