Reality Filtered

Photo by Ashley Goodlett The community grocery store near our first home had an automated coin sorting machine the size of a smart car. My husband took our children there periodically to cash in the pocket change he’d saved up for special adventures. The kids loved the clanking and flashing that followed their upturned paper …

Amen!

Amen! I use it daily as an affirmation when I strongly agree with a social media post or comment and to close my prayers and blessings over meals, but its meaning is far more rich. As a term of determination or resignation, “so be it” says so much more than yes or okay. There is …

Navigating the Currents

My younger son, Jacob, had a love-hate relationship with surfing. The east coast doesn’t offer much to the enthusiast but after surf lessons with the Eternal Wave Surf Shop in Surfside Beach for his thirteenth birthday and watching hours of YouTube videos, the surf challenged him plenty. We’d load up his gear and head out …

Worst Case Scenario

What plays out in your head when you’re not concentrating on anything specific? My husband and I were talking earlier today after a second botched delivery of a piece of furniture we’d ordered and he commented that we should plan for the worst again on the next attempt. I agreed. I tend to plan for …

Faith That Sees Beyond

A heavy cloud hangs overhead tonight. Having flown above a storm, I see this dense grayness and imagine what must be just beyond what I can see. I’ve watched the sun set outside the international airport north of Houston, Texas before taking off on my flight home only to see the sun above the horizon …

Glitchy Faith

One of the major employers in my locale is a global automobile manufacturer. My younger son is employed in their logistics department where various parts are moved from shipping areas to the production line. He describes it as an entire city of electronics similar to the machine world in The Matrix (1999) movies. Each person …

Oh, Grow Up!

My grandson, Thomas, is nearly nine months old and when he is ready for his meals, he folds his hands together, almost like a clap, signaling that it’s time to ask a blessing as we do before each meal. He has already learned this routine and he’s starting to bow his head as he sees …