I used to hold onto everything as tightly as I could–material possessions, places, talents, jobs, relationships. I attempted to maintain control, terrified I might let something slip through the cracks. I strove for perfection and grieved each and every change, failure, and loss as a sign of my own powerlessness. Then, as I became a…
Two years ago, my nearly-three-year-old son Eli had a very specific Christmas list: A door Some steps A hardware store Toast Rocks Even when the Santa Claus at the mall asked Eli what he wanted for Christmas, this is exactly the list he rattled off. (Needless to say, Santa was both confused and delighted by these requests.)…
“Are you expecting?” The question hung in the air as our footfalls echoed off the paved trail. My feet were moving at a steady pace on that early morning run, but my mind froze at her question. I was not pregnant. In fact, my “baby” had recently turned three. With those three words, shame began…
I approached Thanksgiving two years ago feeling less than thankful. With a body dematerializing before everyone’s eyes for reasons no one could diagnose, I entered the season sick, exhausted, and scared. I could barely get up most days, and when I did, it seemed everyone was posting their “What I’m thankful for” on Facebook. It…
As I fill my plate, the odds are stacked against me. Even with the aid of a forgiving waistband, I almost never lick the plate clean at Thanksgiving dinner. This celebration elevates the average dinner’s protein-vegetable-starch trifecta to an Olympic level. Why settle for one kind of potato when you can have baked, mashed, twice…
The Glorious Table is happy to welcome Melanie Dale to the table, with an excerpt from her new book It’s Not Fair: Learning to Love the Life You Didn’t Choose (Zondervan, 2016) “about us sitting down together in our shared mess, taking a deep breath, gripping hands, looking the hard stuff in its beady little…