My gift from Bill this Christmas was an electronic picture frame, the kind that you load with digital pictures from your phone or computer, and it randomly scrolls through them throughout the day. It sits in the living room beside the couch, where we can see it easily, and I find myself glancing at it … Continue reading The Picture Frame
#hope
The Missing Leaf
There is a leaf missing from my Thanksgiving table. Where once it seated eight or more, the old table is now reduced to a small square. I am hard-pressed to remember a Thanksgiving with so few place settings. I miss the days of a full home and table. Of four children, hungrily eyeing the rolls. … Continue reading The Missing Leaf
For Those who Thirst
My husband brought a beautiful birdbath home a few weeks ago, to my great delight. We have long had a feast of seed waiting for the neighborhood birds, but they have so far shown little interest. Perhaps a birdbath will draw them, I thought. Surely they would enjoy the clean, clear water! But no. They … Continue reading For Those who Thirst
After the New
A tender space lies after the new. A gap between delight and complacency, of courage and disappointment. A place ripe for tending. For hope. Being new can be exhilarating. The group welcomes you in, eager to know you. They include and invite you. The new marriage is thrilling, joyful, as you dream of all the … Continue reading After the New
When Winter Lingers
We are over a month into spring here in northern Minnesota, but we are still wearing our woolen socks. We all know that the colors of life will eventually reveal themselves, but right now the earth is still hard and cold, the sky gray. It has been a long, cold, snowy winter, even by Minnesota … Continue reading When Winter Lingers
As Long as It’s Healthy
“I just got the test results”, she leaned close as we waited in the school hallway. “I don’t care if it’s a girl or a boy, as long as it’s healthy.” My smile weakened, tears pressing as I looked for my child, the one who wasn’t born healthy, instead sporting extra chromosomes and their complications. … Continue reading As Long as It’s Healthy
Here We Are Again
It’s a disheartening deja vu: Another regime swooping in on a weaker country, wreaking death and destruction. We grieved over Afghanistan just six months ago. Now we weep with Ukraine. We who are citizens of the most powerful country on earth are caught helpless in front of our Twitter streams and news broadcasts. There is … Continue reading Here We Are Again
How Heaven Changes Us
I’ve often pondered what Ben will be like in heaven. I used to think that he would still have Down Syndrome, since it comes knit into his every chromosome. But the longer we deal with not just the delights but also the deficits and struggles that Down Syndrome brings, the more I am convinced that … Continue reading How Heaven Changes Us
The Sap is Rising
This is a post from a year ago that not many people saw. I re-worked it to share with you again while I am out of town this week. ******************************* It snowed again last week, each unique flake adding its beauty to the whole. The trees stood solid, accepting the coldness stored up for spring's … Continue reading The Sap is Rising
A View of the Lake 