Dawn awakes, stretching bright limbs wide across the eastern sky. So much energy displayed for such a still moment in time. Willing my spirit to believe in something other than the warm bed I just crawled out of, I rest in the calm of my rocker and behold this masterpiece inching its way up the horizon. Soft light trickles onto…
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Valley of Blessing
We looked like a normal family. On weekends. Every Friday night, my husband’s plane would land, and we’d cram all manner of family life into two insufficient days before Monday barged in with the next flight out. Week after week, month after eight long months. Weekdays were a crash course in “single-mom” life for me as employment changes split our…
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The Ministry of Hard Things
As the sun whispers its rise in the window behind me, I lay in bed praying for strength to start another day. All too many mornings lately seem to inherit yesterday’s tired spirit. Begging the energy to put on my big girl slippers, I make the bed, brush my teeth, and wake my son as I head downstairs (all while…
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Surviving on a Diet of Prayer and Tears
Slumping deep into his chair at a corner table for two, he ate waffle fries alone on a holiday evening. The sun laid down quietly in the window behind him as snowy hair fell against a face that spilled secrets of sorrow. Vacant eyes and a somber spirit caught my heart. The people-watcher in me wondered about his story; I…
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God Has No Grandchildren
Exactly one minute ago, my eldest son was learning to drive — according to Mom-Time, that is. Now here we are, cruising the back roads of Surreal-ville, as my third son has found his way behind a wheel. These are the moments when I sigh in solidarity with Dr. Seuss: How did it get so late so soon? Oh, how…
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When Showing Up is Hard to Do
Most summer days, you can find me rocking away time on my front porch. I like to think of it as an investment in my sanity. Like many southern porches, ours displays an American flag gracefully flying in the wind with the same freedom its stars and stripes represent. High in the breeze, it’s the backdrop of my daydreams, my…
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