Living in the Midst
I’m starting to run regularly with our one-year-old chocolate lab these days. We’re still working through it — my job is to let him know he’s not in charge. Unfortunately, I’m not always good at my job. The other day I noticed our shadow. He was in front, I was in back and there was… Continue reading We Get to Choose Our Own Speed
“Talk to myself the way I would talk to someone I really love and whom I’m trying to comfort in the midst of a meltdown” (Daring Greatly, pg. 80). I’m trying to follow Brené’s advice (yes, we’re on a first name basis), but it’s hard today. I’m beating myself up. I’m telling myself that I’m… Continue reading This is Self-Care
Because most people who deal with infertility are trying to find alternative ways to get pregnant, I have not found much comfort or solace in that community. I’ve checked out Facebook groups and Instagram hashtags and immediately turned for the other direction. So, it’s not all that surprising that I was unaware of what this… Continue reading Yes, I’m Aware. But, Are You?
It’s Good Friday. It’s been Good Friday for a long time. It’s been a hard week. Things that shouldn’t bother me bothered me — a lot. Work, usually a place to separate myself from the heaviness of life, usually a place of laughter and camaraderie, felt too heavy to endure for another day. So,… Continue reading Staying in Good Friday
The Last Supper It’s Holy Week. And I’m feeling it, deeply. I’m feeling the tension and the betrayal and the fear. I’m feeling the despair and hope and wonder. There’s a lot held in these seven days. It dawned on me today: these seven days are our life. It’s all Holy Week. It’s all there… Continue reading It’s All Holy Week
It’s been a long day. I’ve been exhausted for over two weeks now and I don’t know why. I’m starting to have a hunch though. And I don’t like it. +++ As I was leaving the driveway to go to yoga — because yoga always helps — I looked up and saw the moon. I… Continue reading Telling Stories and Building Walls
I have a lot of interests: I read novels. I make quilts. I take pictures. I practice yoga. I run. I write. All of these interests and activities bring me joy. They also fill my time. I never thought of this as a bad thing. Each one of these activities are good things to do… Continue reading Meet My Friend Grief
I went to yoga this morning with the intention of slowing down and resting on my mat. Our teacher had something different in mind. So many vinyasas and twists and balances… lots of deep breathing and sweating too. This was not the calm, restful Christmas Eve morning I had planned for myself. But, while building… Continue reading Turing Toward
Often when we try to repair something, we do it in a way that makes the repair invisible. One might put a patch on the backside of a hole in the knees of jeans so that the spot isn’t as apparent. When repairing a tear in a couch or chair, it’s done in a way… Continue reading Making Visible
On a youth retreat several years ago I used various passages from Psalms to help the group recognize the importance of remembering. While the Hebrew people were wandering in the wilderness, when they were displaced from their homeland, they remembered. They remembered that God never failed them. They recounted the stories — the places and… Continue reading Remember and Repair