Stand
In the center of a farm field, not far from our own, stands an enormous, solitary bur oak tree. Broad branches spread up and out from a deeply grooved trunk several feet in diameter. It seems odd that such a huge tree would stand alone in the middle of a field. Something draws me to […]
Gray
“Everything’s gray since she died,” Mother explained quietly. Death’s stiff brushstrokes slapped thick, opaque gray on her inner canvas already stretched thin from her own fight with cancer. Granddaughter Clara, now motherless and not yet two, brings splashes of life-color, but fleeting. More often, Mother’s gray sky days cloud full and eyes pour rain sheets. […]
Run
Saturday I cried. Our son Zach, now 18 and a senior, ran his last high school cross country race. I got quite the workout cheering for him since cross country is not for bleacher spectators. Running from point to point along the course, I screamed, “You can do it, Zach! Give your last your best!” […]
Emotional
7:30 a.m. Driving Nick to tutoring across country roads this October morning gave me a front row, prime time seat to a spectacular show of autumn color in Wisconsin. No place I’d rather be. The golden tasseled corn fields were blanketed in patchy mists of fog being burned off by the bright orange egg yolk […]
True Love
I have a rather, um, LARGE, friend who names his favorite food groups with a chuckle—donuts, Cheetos, and beer. Lucky for him, he’s now 57 years old and has managed to avoid any serious health problems. I suppose that’s because, occasionally, he makes one of those yummy green bean casserole dishes with fully fatted mushroom […]
Cut
There she lay, stretched out and quivering on the grass at dusk, death hovering like a salivating, ravenous beast ready to sink its fangs once more and steal her last breath. Barely conscious, in excruciating pain, she would welcome the end. The savage attack began hours before. Those around her scattered quickly as the attacker […]
Stunned
When will they ever learn? For the second time this morning, a female sparrow flew beak-first right into our west-facing, floor-to-ceiling windows. BANG! In the kitchen when the crash occurred, I walked rapidly to the family room windows and witnessed the poor creature flailing her wings while lying sideways on the deck. Should I go […]
Crippled
2 Samuel 9 begins with David asking, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” King Saul was dead; so was Jonathan, Saul’s son and David’s best friend. David was intent on honoring his promise to show kindness to all of Jonathan’s descendants. What […]
Dented
I can’t believe it! My husband just came upstairs and informed me that our brand new Toyota Highlander has a big dent on the rear passenger side. We bought this car less than a month ago and already it’s deformed! Since this is our third car in a row with a noticeable indentation, I figured […]
Dive
I was 26 years old on that balmy summer evening in Indiana. Gathered with close college friends at a family cottage on Lake Maxinkuckee, we sat on the outside terrace under the moonlit onyx sky studded with stars as if God had emptied an immense bag of perfectly cut diamonds onto his black velvet jeweler’s […]
Waste Management
We live with six horses. Big animals. Big appetites. An average 1000 pound horse produces approximately 9 tons of manure annually. That’s about 50 pounds daily, times six for us. We decided to deal with our massive waste management challenge by creating a spot next to our barn where we could dump and tend to our horses’ […]
Family Functions
Family functions—and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes, at the hands of family, we find ourselves, without warning, in spiritual, emotional, intensive care units not within hospitals but within wells and prison cells. Such is what happened to Joseph. The most favored son in his family, Joseph relished his position and, either from naiveté or pride, unwisely […]