Gaining a heart of wisdom
Modern medicine has made optimists out of us all. Cancer? Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy frequently combine to leave the patient cancer-free or living well with the disease as a chronic illness. Heart attack? Clot-busters, by-pass surgery, rehabilitation, and the patient returns to a normal life. Dementia? Well, that's a different story. Pharmaceutical options are disappointing,… Continue reading Dementia, Dignity, and Honoring God
I listened to hard words today from a dear woman I've loved and admired for nearly twenty years. We were seated in her small room in a nursing home, my grandson was exploring every nook, cranny, and light switch (and eating one of the cookies we had brought for her!), and I asked her how… Continue reading When the Time Comes to Look Back — Jayber Crow Discussion Group (7)
If my dining room table could talk, it might begin with a story about cinnamon rolls whose aroma can pull family out of bed like a giant magnet. Smiling and sleepy, they sniff their way toward the dining room and the warm welcome of a breakfast gathering. My scratched up table might share memories of… Continue reading Nurturing Faith and Strengthening Family Ties Around the Table
When it comes to friendship, to a confidence of our place and belonging to a group, all of us have at least one toe in Middle School. The sense of being outside looking in is ubiquitous enough that it has its own acronym (FOMO). In a speech delivered to a young adult audience in 1944,… Continue reading The Problem of Belonging: Jayber Crow Discussion Group (6)
Four young men have grown up around our dining room table, and the book of Proverbs has shown up as a regular on the breakfast menu, along with the oatmeal and the eggs. Liz Curtis Higgs asked hundreds of her readers to choose their favorite verses from the Proverbs and then narrowed the list down… Continue reading The Proverbs: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life
I've spent the past week reconnecting with my sister. She lives in Alaska. I live in Maine. She has one grown daughter, while I've spent the past 23 years living in a boys' dormitory. She has lovely nails and her wardrobe demonstrates an awareness of the comings and goings of style. My hands and my… Continue reading Stepping onto the Common Ground — Jayber Crow Discussion Group (5)
Those who shake their family tree may be pelted with details they’d rather not know. The blight I encountered in my particular grove was cancer—multiple varieties, hereditary strains. Suddenly I feel a deep kinship with the unending parade of friends and acquaintances who are hearing the word cancer breathed into the air of clinical spaces. I’m thankful… Continue reading 5 Books that Breathe Faith into the Cancer Journey
Flannery O'Connor is known for her short stories, but she packed images large and alarming into her economical word count. Murder, road side ambushes, and the cast of grotesque characters who populated her writing reinforced her oft-quoted credo: "You have to make your vision apparent by shock -- to the hard of hearing you shout,… Continue reading New Testament Women and the Piercing Embrace of the Following Life
He shows up every Sunday morning with a big smile and a small canvas bag full of candy. Swarms of children greet his arrival with joy, but it's his warm handshake and sincere delight in their lives that keeps those relationships alive as the kids become teens and then move on to adulthood. She is… Continue reading The Membership: Jayber Crow Discussion Group(4)
The geese have already begun their practice maneuvers over our heads on this country hill. They're getting ready to go, so at least one goofy son will have asked the annual joke question: "Why is one side of the V longer than the other?" Pause and grin. The answer? "One side of the V is longer than the… Continue reading Musings — September 2017
Living Our Days 