This piece was written for the October issue of the Lee Creek Baptist Church newsletter, Grace & Peace. One clear morning in September, I sat near a lakeside reading Psalm 84 while a pair of birds darted in and out of my vision. They chased each other like children between trees and bushes before disappearing … Continue reading A Sparrow at the Altar
Autumn came, at first, like a man too fierce to get old, huffing and fuming like his leaf blower, hurrying hot wind, unsettled as a hurricane in the trees until, one afternoon, the last leaf fell, was raked, put away, and he settled into something long, cold, and sweeter.
I've learned he is not like the moon, thumb-printed by shadow one night, then full and yellow as a harvest, then gone altogether on the thirteenth of November. He himself cannot be tempted or tilted or touched by the shadows cast by something bigger, because he himself is that Sun, and we are the thing … Continue reading Equinox
I take walks, and the wind is the January kind. It makes the leaves chatter high in the trees and rattles the empty trash cans at the end of each driveway. The earth is brown, save for refrozen snow lining the ditches and furrows. Now is the only time in the year when I can … Continue reading Selah
Today, we're headed toward the sea. Since winter, when our plans for this trip were still scattered across the kitchen table, Papa Larry has brought a new scrapbook with him each time he’s come to dinner. They are all full and tell the stories of different trips he and Nanny took to Cape Cod (30 … Continue reading A Holiday at the Sea
“Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while,” said Jesus to his disciples, “for many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat” (Mark 6:31). Wyndham Mountain Vista isn’t a desolate place. We pulled in too late to book our favorite condo overlooking the fog that huddles … Continue reading “Come Away and Rest Awhile”
December 16 I hope you’re getting excited about Christmas (which is only 9 days away)! I’ve been busy lately finishing up shopping lists and marking projects off my list. It’s so easy to let the rush of Christmas overshadow the joy of Christ’s coming. I’ve decided to step back from blogging for a few weeks … Continue reading Taking A Break for Christmas
