When You Feel Like You’re Just Hanging On
It had been hanging by a thread for a while. Silver filament too flimsy for such a pendulous weight. Mark had even warned me. “Jen, are you sure this chain is strong enough?” “It’s fine,” I said, sliding the round silver Courage pendant onto the silver chain. This morning in the dark hours before full…
Transfused Strength, Vitality, and an Unshakable Force for All Your Rough Roads Ahead
It was right past the homeless man with the guitar, and I loved that he was jiving and rocking along to the music. Our homeless gifts bags slid around on the floor at my feet, and I can’t remember if we were able to give him one that day or if the intersection light turned…
A Joy and Peace That Bubbles Up and Pours Over
In relaxing melody, water tumbles in endless waterfalls in the fountain below me. A green and orange recycling truck rumbles buhBUM buh, buhBUM buh as it stops by our house. Glass knocks against glass. He drives a house or two away. BuhBUM buh, buhBUM buh and then silence with a hum as he exits our…
How Flashes Deep Within the Atom Reflect the Life We’re Hungry For
I’ve been mulling it over — this line I saw recently and can’t remember where. Mulling it over while dragging sprinkler hoses across hot grass lawns, while driving kids to appointments and swim lessons, and every time I curl up beside family and friends while stretching summer long. Iced coffee cubes crash against condensed glass,…
Of Baby’s Breath, Wedding Lilies, Burial Urns, and Daily Glimpses of God
It rains now. Silver staccato on burnished green leaves; the roads a wet black. And it reminds me of those teens several weeks ago, screeching and huddling under a single umbrella. Their four adult-sized figures spilled out from under the protective rain cover, while Blake yelled good-naturedly, “You’re stealing my umbrella!” My daughter and three…
The Best Way to Radiate Beauty This Prom Season
We walked into the shop and both gasped. Crystal and glass chandeliers hung dotted throughout the store, and jewelry and scarves of every color clustered in carefully-coordinated corners. Morgan headed over to the white silver section of accessories, seeking a studded silver headband. Fake rhinestones sparkled against her dark hair. Photo Credit: Flickr user Janine,…
Your Best Witness Protection Plan
“I’ve been part of two shop-lifting experiences,” she told me this week, leaning across the coffee-shop table. Her blue eyes were wide in astonishment. “You witnessed them?” I clarified for anyone eavesdropping. Photo Credit: Flickr user Fourbyfourblazer, Creative Commons cc license “Yes,” she continued, telling me of brazen behavior by two bootlegging rogues. “What did…
What Cowlicks and Warriors Would Tell You about Living Well
The fir tree has a cowlick. Spouting out from conical symmetry is a two-foot-long branch, and I want to snip it each time I see it, but it’s twenty feet up and in my neighbor’s yard. The branch points north to my neighbor’s front yard where at night Orion the Warrior is tangled in a…
Living Two-Handed and Two-Faced
“Where’s the video on college dorms?” she asked. We clicked computer screens until the welcome week college video started playing. Smiling faces toured the university campus, music pulsed, and Morgan and I watched footage of dorm room move-ins and bunk bed assembly. Joy welled in me, and I thumped her back. “I’m so excited for…
Watching You
I’ve watched you. You smoothing tablecloths across MOPS tables with your kids latched on to a leg or perched on your right hip. You carrying egg bakes in one hand and round-faced, red-cheeked toddlers in the other, welcoming new moms with warm smiles. Photo Credit:Flickr user Elvis Kennedy, under permission of Creative Commons cc license…