Mrs. Burdette, the lady who had been old since I was a little girl, was a bit like a grandmother. We met her at our church where she “adopted” us. She had no grandchildren and only two grown children—a son who visited infrequently and a daughter with Downs Syndrome who lived in a group home. […]
Praying for Pets (aka The Time I Said a Sassy Prayer)
Our middle child has had a busy year. Last May she graduated college. In the fall, she backpacked through Europe—sightseeing by day, couch-surfing by night. At the beginning of this year, she and a college friend flew to Peru to teach English for a few months at a small school in the mountain town of Huyancao. […]
Stepping Out of the Shadows–A Mother’s Day Gift for Everyone
“Hi, my name is Katie, and I am a crier. I’ve been a crier for a long time.” I cry about everything. Hallmark commercials (most commercials). Children’s books. While at the grocery store and on the sidelines of a parade. And while the majority of the world somehow has their act together enough to keep […]
A Heart, a Cross, and a Key (The First Ever “Faith Matters” Post)
When I gassed up in Summersville, West Virginia the cashier let me mix bold roast coffee with flavored cappuccino for no extra charge, but he wouldn’t look me in the eye. I squinted at him. Look at me. Nothing. I dropped my dollar five on the counter. “Can I ask you a weird question?” He winced. “Weird?” “Have […]
An Easter Meditation on Mary’s Behalf: The Mourning After
I will be naked soon for the rending of my garments. Hairless too. The women assure me grief softens with time. Not mine. The pain in my mother’s heart is like Job’s pottery shards. Never will the knife-edged fragments cease to cut me from the inside out. The women grip my wrists to keep my nails […]
