Stories about moments that connect us to God, each other, and ourselves.
A tropical storm was on course to crash our annual family and friends vacation. It was roughly two days out, and already the sea was choppy and the winds brisk. After nightfall, we grabbed some flashlights and made our way to the pier just off the pool area located inside the gated community we would call home for the next few days.
Read MoreIt is the season of the Jewish feast known as Sukkot. A harvest festival also often referred to as the Feast of Booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles. During this time each year, Israel is to live in booths or temporary tents to remind them of the wilderness journey of their ancestors from Egypt to the Promised Land.
Read MoreMy thoughts can take me to dark places. My imagination conjures up a bleak future while the pessimistic me wonders what calamity is next.
Read MoreI peered up at him and promptly responded, “I look just like my daddy.” With that, I resumed my infinite loop.
Read MoreThen right in the middle of spring bliss there’s a random day when the temperature reaches eighty-two, just warm enough that the air takes on a thicker, heavier feel. The slightest hint of moisture appears across the bridge of my nose causing my sunglasses to slip down while I’m working the flower beds. Suddenly, the elation I’d experienced the day before evaporates. Oh no. I’m not for summer.
Read MoreI have memories from my childhood that come back to me in flashes and echos. Memories of me in front of my bedroom mirror, Mama’s brushing my thick, waist-length hair. As she brushes she says, “You’re so beautiful” and “You can do anything you want to do.”
Read MoreThe subject of my birthday came up and the fact that I am now fifty-five, and then, as though it had not been blatantly obvious until that moment, the stunning realization that sixty is only five years away came crashing down on me. I started to cry.
Read MoreThe preceding weeks had been hard. I was tired and discouraged. Viruses, quarantines, and riots had me feeling overwhelmed. I longed for something to lift the weight from my shoulders. Chores and bills and the general responsibility of catching up after a week of working a full-time job would have to wait. I wanted to lose myself in child’s play and not have to think about when the next toilet paper shortage would strike.
Read MoreThis Christmas feels different. Quite frankly, I’ve had a hard time getting into the spirit of it. There’s a heaviness weighing me down. If I’m honest, it’s been there for a while.
Read MoreAll is chaos now.
Such noise. The toys
Strewn all throughout the house.
The boys running. Always running.
Read MoreWe got out of the car and took a seat on a large rock under a tree. Temperatures in recent days had soared to more than a hundred degrees, but up on the mountain, it was a comfortable eighty-five. As I stood looking out over the valley below us dotted with shadows from the occasional clouds overhead, I thought of all the other times I’d been there studying the exact same valley that FDR viewed on his escapes to the Knob.
Read MoreYes, it’s true. I’ve let myself go. It started with the quarantine in March when I began working from home on a full time basis.
Read MoreI quickly grabbed a birthday card for my brother, Brent, on the way to our aunt’s funeral. She was my father’s sister, and her passing left him as the lone survivor of their immediate family. Feeling bad that Brent’s birthday was on the same day as this very sad occasion, I sought for something meaningful to write that would remove the somber note of the day.
Read MoreWhile preparing dinner one evening not too long ago, I went to retrieve something from the pantry and made an unexpected discovery.
Read MoreA meditation on spring.
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