We went to Italy back in our young days knowing my husband might have an advantage in language and culture. He grew up as a missionary kid in Ecuador. I grew up a farmer’s kid in Kansas. He flew on airplanes. I tagged along on the combine. He picked bananas from the side of the […]
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Almost three years had passed, since our daughter’s illness, but the pain hadn’t lifted. It wrapped around me like a lead blanket. Peter, Jesus’ disciple and I were buds. “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, […]
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One of our grandson’s started first grade this year. He is the first of our son and daughter-in-law’s children to begin first grade. It is a shell shocking experience for all parents. And so I figured on that first school day in September, I ought to FaceTime my grandson, get a good look at him […]
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My husband chiseled out what he calls a prayer stump from the trunk of a fallen tree. Its back behind our house where he is hidden from human eyes. It’s an uncomfortable seat, an earthly throne of sorts, where he brings our children and grandchildren to a much higher and greater Throne. I do the […]
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“Do you like me?” the elder three-year-old asked his little brother. He rolled onto his side and hugged the little body of his two-year-old brother lying beside him. In a world of Facebook, Instagram, TicTok, YouTube and a myriad of other online communities, it’s a very important question. Do you like me? We are a […]
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I yanked and pulled until the weed snapped, its root still intact like a vein under the skin of the earth. I’m not a great gardener. I might even be a lousy gardener. Roots like those, with their centipede hairy tributaries put me out. It is their fault. They are my bitter roots. “Pursue peace […]
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The scenery changes outside my window. From tree covered mountains to patchwork plains. I’m going home, although I’m not even sure where that is anymore. I’ve called so many places home. But, these ironed flat fields of Kansas hold my growing up memories. They root me to this soil like the tall cottonwoods that line […]
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“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” I’ve not lived a long time in Virginia, but in the time I have, I’ve seen a lot of trees. Coming from the broad mid-west where storms were fierce and majestic, I feel like the […]
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From the back of the car, three kids sang with megaphone voices. “Do everything without complaining, do everything without arguing, so that you will become blameless and pure, children of God.” Ah yes, I loved teaching my children Scripture songs because they needed them so much. Blonde heads swayed right and left along with the […]
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“Gamma!” my little grandson shouts. He begins his own personal happy dance with one chubby knee up first, then a big hop on one leg and a galloping pivot that nearly knocks him flat. Those seconds his face lights up with that wide welcome smile makes me want to turn, go out and come in […]
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