When I first heard about Lent, it sounded like a strange sort of diet: This person was giving up chocolate, the other was giving up sugar, and a third was giving up TV. To what end, I was never sure. It seemed to me like a religious do-over for failed New Year's resolutions. Lent wasn't … Continue reading Marked by Ashes
Author: Andrea
Homecomings
The rustling woke me out of a restless sleep and I got up to peek into the bassinet. Dark eyes peered back at me, lips pursed, wanting. The excitement of the day before faded as I cradled her on my shoulder, warming a bottle in the semidarkness. The longed-for call and hasty trip to the … Continue reading Homecomings
Still Waiting
"Ooh! Weet!" Ben exclaimed when he saw the bouquet our church dropped off the other day. Even though services and activities have resumed, some of us are still quarantined due to health risks. Ben is one of those and, by extension, me - although he can't comprehend why. Ben has been at home, almost totally … Continue reading Still Waiting
Gritty Love
This week the world celebrates romance and what media defines as love - passion, tenderness and deeply felt emotions. Romantic love is a gift. Joyful and exhilarating, it woos us and thrills us. Anyone who has been captivated by it never forgets the heady feeling. Anyone who has been burned by it realizes that there … Continue reading Gritty Love
Gone Missing
My baby turns 30 this week. She came to us as an angry infant, her harsh cries filling the nights. Then the anger became a slow burn, self-will and defiance building with each year. There was counseling, evaluations, and interventions in the desperate hope of stemming the tide. But then came the boiling over, her … Continue reading Gone Missing
Sauntering Upward
I am married to a man who loves to conquer. When we lived in the mountains he would run their trails, training for his next marathon. If he wasn't running, he was rock climbing, striving to conquer a new route up the face of one of the mountain monoliths. We could not be more different. … Continue reading Sauntering Upward
Ready to Party
Ben has decided that he wants to die. This son of mine, who lives with a trust I aspire to....he believes in heaven, and can't wait to get there. Why do I find this disturbing? I've watched friends hold onto life with a white-knuckled grip, desperate for healing to come here on earth, grasping for … Continue reading Ready to Party
The Importance of Blueberry Pie
My parents represented the best of the American idea. My father's ancestors set foot on American soil shortly after the Mayflower brought the pilgrims. And my mother was the child of immigrants. My father was the last of his family line to be born in the same area his ancestors settled in Maine, and my … Continue reading The Importance of Blueberry Pie
Invitation to a Feast
Many of us sat down to the beginnings of a feast on Friday. We decided that we wanted to know Jesus better this year by reading his words to us. We opened our Bibles out of a new or continuing commitment to taste and see that the Lord is good. Some of us will consume … Continue reading Invitation to a Feast
Resolutions
Do you remember what resolutions you were making this time last year? Perhaps they included losing weight, or eating healthier meals, or putting aside some money. Those are all good things when life's bumps are relatively minor and we believe there to be some semblance of order and prosperity undergirding our lives. But in 2020, … Continue reading Resolutions
