Yesterday I attended the fourth funeral of my summer. Often it’s wedding after wedding, but this summer I have sat four times next to grieving families. So many tears. So much pain. Missing people I love very much. People who leave a big hole. This morning the air quality index is at 222, and we…
*My apologies to the United States Army for appropriating their byline. When I was little, we often went for sleepovers at my Grandma Willenbrecht’s house, where we drank whole milk unfiltered from a local farm, looked at children’s books she had made herself by pasting magazine pictures of animals into scrapbooks, and made cassette tapes…
Have you been binge watching the videos of people from other countries commenting on how incredible America is during the soccer world cup? We didn’t see that coming. I can’t stop watching, because these visitors are so encouraging. A video I watched yesterday was my favorite of all. A British woman was saying that everyone…
There are a few things I long to have happen, but they seem so out of reach and impossible that I keep retreating from the throne of God, shaking my head and muttering Nevermind. You probably wouldn’t want to do this for me. (Shamefully doubting his love and care for me.) But as I hesitated…
Most folks don’t like to talk about their real situation–the discouragement, the worry, the disappointment, the financial strain, the loneliness, the new physical ailment. How are you? Fine. Wouldn’t want to let loose with the full story and burn the other person’s eyebrows off. Who would just come out and say that you’re worried about…
Speak truth to us. That was all I could think of while the top-of-the-class teens walked onto the platform and spoke to their graduating class. But instead we heard platitudes. Follow your dreams. You’re on the road to success. Life is just beginning. Five hundred names were announced and five hundred diplomas passed out. I…
We’re going to Texas next week to see our nephew graduate. Hello family and Texas BBQ. But what if I die before leaving on vacation? We have family coming to stay with Aunt Joan while we’re gone, so of course the house has to be perfectly clean and the yardwork meticulously done and somewhere in…
Matt and I walked past a refrigerator in Costco a couple of days ago. “Look at that nice fridge,” I said. “It only costs $1000.” In the last few months, he has joined me in listening to the Ramsey podcasts, and we’ve really enjoyed talking through the phone calls they take. It’s a fun game…
In big block letters, Dad wrote Matt and I a silly yet touching roses-are-red, violets-are-blue poem many Christmases ago, when we were young and had gotten ourselves in credit card debt. The poem spoke of Dad’s desire to pay off our credit card as a Christmas present. This man, who had labored hard for his…
The last few months and especially the last couple of weeks have been intense, as we have moved into more caregiving for Matt’s sweet aunt who lives with us. This is the very reason we moved in with them seven years ago, so it is a complete joy to be here for this season of…
As I sat in the emergency room with Matt’s aunt, many medical professionals came and went, but one beautiful young woman came in and introduced herself as Tova. “Is that Hebrew?” I asked. She paused and gave me a surprised look. “Yes,” she said. This was meaningful for me, because my soul had been living…
It’s spring in the Rockies, which means as I write this I have turned the calendar to April and am watching it snow outside. I’m using these cold spring days to do some cleaning in the crawl space, where we store most of our worldly possessions. Yesterday I brought up a Rubbermaid filled with years…
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