Tagging Along
Today I enjoyed taking a long walk around the neighborhood to the sound of melting snow and birdsong. My daughters sent me out the door, shooing me off so they might play a game they invented. But then, they invited me to spend time with them, suggesting things like making pork dumplings and painting toenails. […]
Crammed with Heaven
Today a new friend shares with me a quote from Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Aurora Leigh (Book VII) that I love: “Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God;But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,And daub their natural faces unaware…” Every common bush is […]
And We Saw a Patch of Grass
The neighbors all come outside because it’s a stifling 40 degrees outside. We’re walking dogs. We’re jogging. We’re taking long walks. One finishes shoveling the melting ice from her driveway as we walk by. “Look!” she points at the tiny patch of grass revealing itself on the edge of the driveway. We stand there encircled […]
More Important Than Fear
We’re watching The Princess Diaries, and the famous quote about courage pierces my heart. I haven’t seen the movie for over ten years, and back then, I loved the quote as well. In the letter a father writes to the main character (a scared and reluctant princess who wants to run away from her calling) […]
Happy Evidence
Do you remember my little succulents? I love those little terrariums! Originally, they looked like this (from May of last year). Tiny, unassuming little things, no? Barely there, really. Now, they explode off the kitchen window sill, reaching out their arms with love as I stand there washing dishes. They’ve become so involved in the life […]
Some Beauty Here
The snow still rises up around the house today, and it’s still icy cold. However, we enjoy the bright sun, the blue sky, and the lovely tree bones. This view comes only through winter.
If God Gives You Ordinary
Today I remember the story of the demon-possessed man who Jesus heals from chapter 5 of Mark. I remember how, as Jesus got into the boat to leave, this healed man begged to go with Jesus. The text doesn’t tell us, but I imagine this man not only wanted to be with the one who […]
The Tiniest Little Gift
On Sunday night, my friend put a tiny little present on my kitchen counter. It was a teabag. It’s wrapper said Scottish Breakfast Tea. My friend simply said, “You will love it. It’s the best tea.” Days pass. I had set the teabag next to my tea kettle because I wanted to drink it during […]
Not the Most Important Thing
I’m sitting here upstairs as I listen to these ice pellets fall. I learn that this isn’t a half snow / half rain combination; it’s an entirely different kind of phenomenon. It’s amazing. And it means something to me. An ice pellet forms when a snowflake melts as it falls through a warm layer of […]
Balm
You know when you’re absolutely freezing, and then you walk into a warm building? You know that feeling of being wrapped up in warmth, completely covered by it? It’s the best feeling. Today I enter my campus building feeling particularly icy–both physically and emotionally. I enter the building: warmth. I sit there in the stairwell […]