This Is One Thing We Can Do
Good morning... Beneath this sign posted on a nearby tree, I look down to see a worm struggling wildly on the sidewalk. Flailing. Squirming. Searching for softness. I think to myself, "This is one thing I can do," and I pick up the desperate creature and lay her on a moist patch of grass. In times of chaotic overwhelm, it is important to do the one thing we can do, one moment at [...]
Free Water For The Thirsty
Good morning... Each time I walk our dogs, I pass by these two trees. One tree bears a sign with the name and the face of a three year old Israeli girl who was kidnapped by Hamas. Another tree shares the name and the face of a seventy-seven year old hostage. I am grateful for a compassionate neighbor who chose to put up these signs, grateful to remember each day the innocent victims [...]
Look At These Babies
Good morning... As I was in Ohio visiting with my parents, my siblings, and the first grandbaby on our side of the family, I missed our weekly arts and crafts time at PAWkids in downtown Atlanta. With about ten committed PAWkids volunteers connected to our Women's Ministry at Northside Church, the fun went on in my absence. "Yesterday, we introduced tug o war and balloon volleyball with noodle bats," Corinne Adams texted later. [...]
The Buoyancy Of My Mom
Good morning... At eighty-five years old, my mom is beaming, buoyant, beautiful. She has pushed through really tough medical challenges these past few years. With her moving through the ICU twice, I have paid close attention to one of my favorite poets who has recently been writing about her own mother in the ICU. Her mom also has pulled through, beaming, buoyant, beautiful. I resonate deeply with her poem below. ****** Scientific Principle [...]
At Home With My Mom And Dad
Good morning... Up in the middle of the night, I snap a photo of the sign that greeted me yesterday as I settled into my parents' villa at their senior living community in Olmsted Township, Ohio. This sign makes me smile. A simple, handcrafted warm welcome. Susie, my nickname growing up. My mother's always beautiful handwriting. The kind willingness of my brother Andy to drive in from Pennsylvania to overlap for a family [...]
I Can’t Process Everything
Good morning... Thinking, "I can't process everything," I close my eyes to cocoon in silent dark. I breathe. Breathe deep. Breathe more. Quietly my mind recalls the words of a friend. "The intense hatred of human beings is heartbreaking and hard. Why is everything coming undone?" In sensing without my eyes, I re-realize, the ways of the world are not God's ways. They never have been. They never will be. “For my thoughts [...]
Include All Who Grieve
Good morning... "Do you realize that sometimes your words (actually God’s) speak in ways so far beyond the original intent?" she emailed me after yesterday's post, The Doorway To Hope. "I’m so sorry you’ve shouldered so many deaths to those close to you lately, but I am grateful your messages are of purpose and hope and peace for yourself and others." "I recognize my many stages of grief recently for a lost, deeply [...]
The Doorway To Hope
Good morning... A quiet poem greeted me yesterday, a poem named Praying by Mary Oliver. ****** It doesn't have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don't try to make them elaborate, this isn't a contest but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak. ****** Suddenly, [...]
Creativity Flows In Our Grief
Good morning... As I wake in the dark of this night, I notice three unique things. The heat has kicked on, as temperatures drop. The wind chimes are going wild, as the breeze picks up. And my mind is flooded with prayers for my friend, as she prepares to lay her husband to final rest today. Then I think back to the start of this week. On Monday, I was asked to write [...]
Now That Our Kids Are Grown
Good morning... Now that our kids are grown, I love generating joy with other children. This Halloween morning would feel so different for me without the fun memories made yesterday. There are moments when I waste the time gifted to me. Selfish. Ho-hum. Disconnected. Our arts and crafts time on Monday afternoons feels like the very opposite. Lively. Generative. [...]
Steve’s Sad Announcement
Good morning... As quiet ripples of moonlight rest on our bathroom floor, I snap a photo and prepare to write in the middle of this night. First, I open an email my husband and I had discussed yesterday. Reading Steve's words with my own eyes makes the many layers of loss feel much more real. "Dear Israel Trip 2024," began his letter. "I am writing with sadness on so many levels. First and [...]
Life Is Beautiful. Life Is Hard.
Good morning... Waking in the middle of this night, the moon is irresistible. I am drawn outside to capture the 3:00 am brightness casting a shadow on our deck. Light quietly befriends life's darkness. It always has. It always will. This week Kate Bowler shared the video below, reminding us day and night: Life is so beautiful. Life is so hard. For everyone. By the end of this Saturday at hand, a full [...]