I am not a very adventurous eater. As a lifelong vegetarian, my options are often limited from the start. In unfamiliar settings I wonder about hidden pork fat and disguised fish sauce …steakhouses and seafood restaurants are the worst. I eat the side salad and the...
What if I Can't See a Way to Use My Gifts? When I dump out the 500 pieces of a new puzzle, the colors and shapes all jumble together. All the pieces are there but the picture those pieces will form is still fragmented. Gradually, as I work, the nuances of color,...
Holding Down the Sand - Resisting Forgiveness “I’m holding down the sand!” My daughter stamped down the shifting beach sand with all her might, trying to keep the waves from pulling it away. Her desperate attempts to contain the earth beneath her feet has become an...
You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. - James 5:8 During pregnancy everyone (and their mother) feels the need to offer all kinds of advice, from what to eat to what to name the baby. I politely ignored all the...
The clock hands keep moving later and later. I step on a monster truck and trip into the couch. Six times before dinner, two times after dinner, and another three times before bedtime. That is how many times I asked for help cleaning up the toys. I want to throw up...
“There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly.” - Mark 5:25-26 My anxiety is hemorrhaging out of me. Over time I have learned to deal with my triggers in more effective ways. But some days, like today, it hemorrhages. It...
It was “No.” As clear as day. I had prayed for an answer, and I heard the “No”. I wanted it to be yes… so, so, so badly. I was devastated. I remember the place, the people, the moment in that chapel. Even more so, I can recall the feeling that God had led me to a...
Let me have too deep a sense of humor ever to be proud. Let me know my absurdity before I act absurdly. Let me realize that when I am humble I am most human, most truthful, and most worthy of your serious consideration. —Daniel A. Lord, SJ, in Hearts on Fire:...
Three kids, a pandemic, and nearing the “late thirties” stage of not-so-young adulthood… Suddenly, shopping is not as fun as it used to be. Fall has brought a few occasions that require me to ditch my uniform of mom jeans and Ann Taylor Loft T-shirts. The most...
While the baby and I play in the sand, the older kids ride wave after wave into the shore on their boogie boards. My husband stands guard in the shallow water. He shows them and my niece how to watch the waves approach, let the small ones pass, and then ride into...
