spring
-
Lenten Reflection Three – My Life as a Tree
For me, this Lent has been marked by trees. I’ve long looked to trees for wisdom about how the seasons shift and change, and the ways in which trees provide shelter and care for God’s creatures. There are numerous examples in the scriptures about trees, from the first chapters of Genesis through the Prophets and…
-
February
February is my favorite month, but it hasn’t always been that way. In the last few years, I’ve noticed that I like December far less than I had before and that by September, I feel a decided shift toward negativity. Today I looked at the recently picked tulips scattered around my home curated in their vases, noticed…
-
Walk – 2020
For the past several years on New Year’s Eve, our sweet hosts have pulled out a sheet of cardboard on which everyone writes their goals for the year ahead in permanent sharpie. One year I wrote that I would find our dog, Bailey, and I did. Another year I wrote that I would run a…
-
Spring
If you live where I live, you’re seeing everything in bloom. In my tiny yard alone: forsythia, tulips, hosta, dogwood, phlox, azalea, and even dandelions. In my neighborhood, baby leaves are peeping out and growing more with each day, making a welcome canopy of sunlit apple green overhead. And everyone is smiling: all of this…
-
Oceans
I am almost afraid to tell this story. It’s a story of promises fulfilled and prayers answered, but mostly it’s a story about the nature of life and the nature of God. Life is unpredictable; it bends and moves in twists and circles, yet, through it all, God is steadfast. Something I know now for…
-
Hope in Growth Under the Surface – (in)courage
I’m no gardener, but this past October I planted tulip bulbs in the ground and shared more from the batch with some dear friends. As winter approached, I bought amaryllis bulbs, planted two in pots, and gave away still more. I wasn’t looking for a new hobby, and I don’t revel working in the dirt.…
-
Joy
Nothing in my circumstances changed, but I could feel something shift, some tiny glowing ember in my spirit today that was new and yet something I recognized from long ago, like an old friend. I felt it grow stronger as I saw the faces at church, so grace-filled and kind and good. I felt it…
-
Hopeless Wanderer
Do you believe in miracles? Well, I do, and I think one just happened to me. In the late Winter after my mother passed, I was struggling with missing her and with my faith. One day, I took a walk and listened to music my sister, Molly, had just introduced me to. The music of…