When one of our daughters was in second grade, her school teacher mentioned an issue that she’d observed. Our daughter had begun to limp. She complained about her leg hurting, especially at night. She was going through a growth spurt like many children tend to do, with every hem of her clothing attesting to that […]
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Mud, thick red goop clumped his little shoes like melted cheese oozing out of a sandwich. Hunks of it fell in globs I tried to avoid as I scooped him up. Briefly his legs swung from side to side and in the arc. Piles of wet Virginian soil splattered. He’s too heavy to carry now, […]
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“She’s my friend,” my daughter said with a nod. “She doesn’t cheat.” My head shot up. “And some of your friends do?” I asked, thinking at least my six-year-old was on the right side of that conversation. “Sometimes,” she said. Then she ran out of the room. A pinkballerina streak, while I stayed sitting on […]
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If you were to walk the streets of Bologna, Italy during a spattering of months out of the year, you might see a confusing sight. Now and again whether in a crowd or walking alone, amid Armani, Prada, Dolce and Gabbana, parades a head crowned with a fresh green laurel wreath. A graceful flow of […]
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My dad used to have some succinct sayings to get his points across, as in, “ain’t got the brains God gave a goose.” This pronouncement, often hurled at politicians, portrayed a questionable bias directed toward a certain variety of bird-brained intelligence. As I heard it, I felt a sympathy toward all geese. And another, […]
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I have some dear friends, whom I love very much even though they run. I mean really run. On purpose. Because they like it. They have a few years up on me, yet they are forever completing some big mileage run. They do this with smiles on their faces. And they look good. And they […]
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His big round eyes followed me. His little face filled with confusion, fear, and betrayal. I read his silent plea as if the words had been spoken, “Don’t leave me.” As I turned from the classroom, I remembered my son’s first baby vaccination, when those trusting eyes looked at me, startled, hurting, and as if […]
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“Gotta be thick-skinned to survive ministry,” advised a pastor to my young husband. “I’d never have continued if I’d let every criticism get under my skin.” As a pastor’s wife and mother, I found criticism and church-goer barbs dug deep when slung my way. They seemed to hurt even more if they were hurled at […]
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So, my husband moved the big trash container outside, you know the move-once-a-week hunker on wheels? It’s a job he accomplishes without thinking much about what might or could happen. Well, guess what was underneath? I believe the analogies of finding a copperhead snake coiled under the trashcan are unlimited. A jungle-man of missionary-offspring with […]
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“He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24 NKJV) 50. The Big 5-0. 5 Decades. A Half Century. As a bride, I had no idea. I thought people who had been married five years were already old. I recognize how rare it is, to hit a 50th wedding anniversary. […]
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