“Make it your ambition to live a quiet and peaceful life.” ~1 Thessalonians 4:11 (paraphrased) When we first talked about doing a series on what the traditional church calendar identifies as Ordinary Time, I had no inkling of the longing that would accompany this season for me, of the way I would want to…
“What happened to your leg?” Strangers ask me this weekly, if not daily. I became an amputee two weeks before my ninth birthday, and even after twenty-one years, it’s still a hard question to answer. Not because I struggle with what happened, but because the questioner is usually looking for a short answer like cancer,…
Our worth is determined by what we bring to the table. At least, that’s what society says. It wasn’t her words that bothered me but her actions. My head hung in shame and shock as my mom ran to embrace my best friend. The crumpled metal heap that used to be our minivan lay…
During college, I worked as an orientation leader for two consecutive years. I spent the summers before and after graduation working eighteen-hour days. It was the hardest work I’ve ever done. We lived and worked on campus, and our coworkers were our roommates. It felt like there was no escape. We cried together and because…
“Do you, Seth, promise to love Kelly, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?” “I do,” said my husband with a gleam in his eye. When the minister declared us husband and wife, he swept me into his arms and kissed me. When I look at our wedding photos, I see…
I’m not exactly sure when my husband started contemplating getting me a dog. I believe the final straw came when life took us to Eglin Air Force Base in the panhandle of Florida, where my husband served as a physician. We chose to live on base, completely unaware that what we were actually choosing was…