Field of Weeds
At the Piggly Wiggly, in the aisle by the coffee, I spotted Fred, our neighbor down the road. We started talking farm talk, him with his cows and chickens, me with our horses. “Worried about hay this year?” I ask. “Nah,” he answered, scrunching his nose. “Cows will eat what your horses won’t.” We laughed. […]
Unexpected Blessings
Two years ago, I planted a new lilac bush in the back perennial bed. I had wanted to buy a dark purple, French lilac like the one we had outside the bay window of our former home. The garden center had exactly what I had been looking for, or so I thought. I read the […]
Lessons Learned
What do perfume, lilacs, erosion, homework assignments, and Jesus all have in common? All five contributed to great lessons learned. As always, I pray my way through my days, “Help me see, Jesus, what you want me to see right now, and teach me through everything you bring across my path. Help me see you […]
Robin in the Road
Driving along a country road this morning, I saw a bird. She sat in the middle of the road, not moving as my car approached. I drove around her and noticed in my rear view mirror that she was still sitting there. Should I keep going? Should I stop, put my car in reverse, and […]
Twisted and Torn
What do you do when life is reduced to rubble? When you have 16 minutes to take cover and hold on? Hold on to what? What do you hold onto when whirlwinds come through, more powerful than you, and rip everything apart, flattening everything you’ve ever worked for and taking what you most love? Where […]
An Elegant Life
A dance well-danced. A score well-played. A life well-lived? We began in church, as we do every Sunday. Pastor spoke about life—the sanctity of life—how it is vital that equality, liberty, and sexuality are viewed first as issues of authority, fundamentally, when making determinations about these issues judicially. Our highest courts are making mighty judgments […]
Life Changes
Sometimes life just doesn’t go as planned. Yesterday, on my way to a meeting, I got stuck behind a farm vehicle rambling along ridiculously slow with a fishtailing wagon on back, making it impossible to pass. Why does this always seem to happen when I’m on a schedule and I have to be somewhere at […]
Hope for Spring
There’s so much LIFE to be seen and heard during a Wisconsin spring! Lawns have transformed from tan to Irish green. Birds are busy building nests and are having feeding frenzies, storing up to nurture their hatchlings. Horses finally have pastures to run and fresh grasses to eat. And the flowers! Trees are budding, near […]
All in One Day
Anybody? Does anybody have days like mine yesterday? I don’t know, but I’m still feeling fuzzy this morning even after a seven hour sound sleep. Is this what Lazarus felt like when Jesus called him forth? A bit fuzzy and stiff and maybe a bit stinky? Just sayin! Let’s see if I can remember […]
Barren, Yet Abundant
No one mentioned the barren in church this year on Mother’s Day. Interesting how the barren can be so easily forgotten—so effortlessly passed over. But we don’t forget, do we? We don’t forget the weeks and months and years of trying to conceive. We don’t forget the outside-looking-in feelings every time we see a growing […]
Mother of Roses
I talked to her Mother’s Day morning. She was surprised by joy when my flowers arrived the day before. She hadn’t expected flowers that year because I had bought her something special instead—a garden bench, handcrafted in the year of her birth, 1936. In just a few weeks, Mom was to move from the place she […]
The Gift of Adoption
Sunday is the day we celebrate mothers. I’ve been mothering for 15 years and our kids are now 21, 19, and 15. I became a mother in the non-traditional way—adopting all three kids from a Russian orphanage in 1997 and 1999. They were 6, 4, and 19 months then. The older kids were speaking fluent […]