I’ve tampered my passions. Stuffing down the fire within me that calls for all people fed, all people housed, all people safe, all people educated. That same fire that calls out systemic oppression and injustice. I’ve tried to put a lid on the sparks that drive me to want to make things better and more …
I’ve tempered my words. Carefully choosing and precisely picking words that aren’t too challenging or courageous for a woman. I’ve bitten my tongue, holding back the very words I knew needed to be spoken in order to not be called outspoken. I smiled and nodded even when I knew the person who was speaking was …
I remember the first time I realized that what I wanted from life was different than what I should want from life. That moment when I realized maybe I wasn’t going to fit into the expectations of the Christian, Southern woman. The realization came from a bouqet of flowers. I didn’t want long-stemmed red roses. …
One of the question I get asked a lot from our six-year-old and three-year-old is, “Is this right? They are both at ages and stages where they are learning so much so quickly. They are acquiring new skills, gaining new experiences almost faster than I can keep up and they want to know that the …
There’s something brewing below the surface. The clap of thunder the flash of lightning blinding most people, so they can’t see, the undercurrent pulling them dragging them away. There’s something taking root underground. The yellow coating of pollen the wind whipping around redirecting most people so they can’t hear the new life grounding. There’s something …
It’s about this time in the Lenten season that we get weary. We are tired of the reminders of that we are dust and to dust we will return. We are tired of the darkness. We are tired of confessions. It’s about this time in the Lenten journey that we want to skip ahead to …
When light breaks through and the sky lights up, the possibilities begin. When light breaks through, there is an invitation to begin anew. When light breaks through, sorrow and despair fade into hope. When light breaks through, the shadows of uncertainty flee making way for resurrection.
I heard their whisperings at the top of the stairs. We had just cleaned up from dinner and were headed to bath, just enough ahead of me to plot something. I stopped for just a minute to give them ample time to plan their surprise. I made sure my feet fell loudly on the last …
After my second year of teaching, I went to Germany for one school year to teach. As a young American in a small town, I found myself most often on the same schedule of retirees. We would eat our kuchen and kaffee at the same time in the afternoon and then go see a lecture …
Yesterday brought the Spring Equinox and the reminder that the light is coming. At a time and place where there is so much violence, the equinox is an invitation to find the glimmers of hope in the new life that is beginning to bloom. In our modern society, we don’t live as in tune with …
