cultivating the beautiful ordinary by sharing our tales and our tables
As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Joshua 1:6 We met years ago, but we lost touch. Reconnecting with that one love you’ve always had is one of the most exhilarating experiences. I was suffocating and could barely breathe under the weight of…
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We were having friends over for lunch and each room looked pleasing. A few days earlier an interior decorator came and one of the things she said that our home needed was more texture (throws and pillows), height (stacking objects and books on coffee tables) and more interesting bookshelves. Last night we began watching the…
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By March, the worst of the winter would be over. The snow would thaw, the rivers begin to run and the world would wake itself again. -Neil Gaiman I feel a piercing pain in my chest as I talk with my friend Libby about the inevitability of weaning my daughter Charlotte. My body begins to…
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My heart breaks into pieces as I listen to the words my sister-in-law has received since announcing her engagement to her girlfriend. Anger mixes with grief as tears line the rims of my reddened eyelids. Each of these messages blatantly tell her that what she is doing is wrong and that the people closest to…
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After an incredibly embarrassing loss, I decided to shore up the courage to go comfort my friend in his dorm room. I signed in at the front desk and memorized lines of what I would say if someone caught me walking to his room, aka “the forbidden place.” The entire football team was in a…
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We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory. –Louise Glück A few months ago, my husband and I lay under our down comforter, which felt far too heavy for a mild Florida winter. I felt empty and bored after a long day with the kids, so I roused an argument with…
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The year was 1980, and I’d been invited to my first boy-girl party with classmates from school. It was the end of my 7th grade school year and invitations to girls-only parties had been few and far between. The addition of boys to the mix only heightened my excitement and dread. Even more anxiety inducing, however,…
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I heard my heart whisper, “I’d rather be with them.” I held back a breath, stunned by the level of satisfaction I had being wrapped in the love of my husband and daughter.
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It is intimacy that gives us the grace and strength we need to push through suffering, pain, and inconvenience. –Heidi Baker
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Ash Wednesday. A chalked smearing of celebration tasted—now absent, ached for, and anticipated.
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