The Card Lady

This piece was written for the May issue of the Lee Creek Baptist Church newsletter, Grace & Peace. A few years ago, I heard the story of a woman who went into the hospital, only for no one from her church to come visit her. No one checked in. No one sent a card. Instead … Continue reading The Card Lady

Hands & Feet Hospitality

This piece was written for the Lee Creek Baptist Church newsletter, Grace & Peace. On the week that my grandma was passing away last summer, there were members from my familyโ€™s church who stocked their fridge with meals---crockpot soups and breakfast casseroles. My sweet grandma had come home on hospice, and we knew it would … Continue reading Hands & Feet Hospitality

Mrs. Rosalie

It was my parentsโ€™ idea to drop me off for the day at Mrs. Rosalieโ€™s duplex in town. I wanted to learn how to sew a pair of palazzo pants, and Mrs. Rosalie had worked as a seamstress most of her life. Instead of plopping me in front of a YouTube video, my dad dropped … Continue reading Mrs. Rosalie

A Long Line of Quiet Women

Sometimes, usually when Iโ€™m in the kitchen, I find myself thinking about my great-grandma Minerva, Papa Jayโ€™s mom, who had a tight, little face, wore her black hair in a bun, and made him biscuits and gravy from scratch every morning. Papa is getting to an age when he canโ€™t remember things well or often, … Continue reading A Long Line of Quiet Women

With These She Was Content

This tribute was written for my grandma Naomi's memorial service. She entered Christ's presence Sunday morning, August 17th. My grandma Naomi was a lover of the little things. Looking out her and Papaโ€™s sunroom windows this time of year---when the cicadas are full in the trees, the fish flipping down in the pond, and August … Continue reading With These She Was Content

Two Little Tributes

Books are a love language, and one of the ways Jared demonstrated his love for me early on was by lending me his pastoral library. I love books, Jared loves books (he has more than I do), and heโ€™s always been generous with them. Iโ€™d come home from my visits to Arkansas with commentaries and … Continue reading Two Little Tributes

She Knitted Things

My good friends lost their mom and grandma back in December. We are such good friends, in fact, that I'd only ever called her "Nana." Nana was known for her knitting and quilting, so at her memorial, her family hung her quilts in their kitchen for folks to look at. They filled a basket with … Continue reading She Knitted Things

There and Back Again

After dinner last night, I came across a journal entry I wrote on October 20th of last year. Today was the Lordโ€™s Day, it beganโ€”one of many that I have spent at Jaredโ€™s church. On that particular Sunday in autumn, we had read a Psalm on the drive to church; heโ€™d set the thermostats while … Continue reading There and Back Again