Jesus and Jelly Beans

(I wrote this post two years ago, but felt compelled to re-post for those that missed it first time around. Happy Easter to all!) I did not expect to wake up to the sound of jelly beans hitting the walls and windows. But as I sat up and blinked twice I realized it was...

Coming Home (or It’s Not My Party)

Friday Dawn I lay in the dark and tried to locate my two granddaughters by their breathing. Brooklynn, age five, had a slower, softer and more rhythmic breath. Olive, at three, had a little bear-cub growl on inspiration and I could tell she was right below me on the...

Beyond Hope

If you doubt that spring is in the air, just visit Christmas Tree Shop on a Saturday afternoon, especially when the temperature has finally stretched past forty. I needed a frame and a lamp, and knowing the danger of entering that store and thinking you can leave with...

What-if on a Would-be Birthday

I rolled over and peeked through the shade. Still dark. The clock said 4:28 and I lay back down, sighing deeply. Thirty-four years ago, plus about two hours, my life had just been turned upside down. I became a mother. Spencer Timothy Macleod had burst upon the scene,...

Not For Sissies

  “That’s it. I quit.” I lifted myself back down through the crevice, wedging my left knee between the two huge boulders and dangling my right foot into midair, searching for a place to step down to. “We’re almost there! You can do it Robin. I can help you!” my...
Surprised by God (Boot Straps Not Included)

Surprised by God (Boot Straps Not Included)

I watched an interview with an earthquake survivor recently and I was intrigued by something she said; “If an earthquake wakes you up, you never think This is an earthquake. You’ll think it’s anything else.” We are reason-able creatures. Therefore, a dog probably...