faith, family, wellness
I was tidying up my daughter's bedroom today, and I was simply struck by how much she loves butterflies. They are on her walls, her area rug, her pillow case. She paints them. She sings about them. Man. They get so much hype. So much has been said, metaphorically and otherwise, in poetry, art, songs, about the delicate beauty … Continue reading Why Caterpillars Make Better Company
There's this boy, and he's eight. And he knows exactly when to curl up on the couch and play quietly alone. He knows exactly when he needs to shut this world out for a bit. That little boy is my son. A sweet-spirited kid, but slow, slow to adjust. He is always the quietest one in the class. Never wants … Continue reading God Uses the Quiet Ones Too
I got a call from my neighbor last night. The other day I had left some flowers on her doorstep. Her husband passed away three days after Christmas. He was eighty-three. "I just have to keep going, I guess," she said to me over the phone that night. I woke up this morning with her words still with me. It's … Continue reading Look Up, Press On
Last Christmas, a man rammed into us. It was the night before Christmas Eve. Our car had come to a stop, at a quiet intersection I have known all my life. There was hardly a soul on the road. But just as our car rolled to a pause, we felt this jolt. With it came the terrible sound of … Continue reading Saved by a Handful of Inches
When it's hard to believe in miracles... In the hope of change... In overcoming... In transformations and new beginnings... In healing... When our spirit is willing, but our flesh is frail... When joy is illusive; victory, distant... And wonder has lost its shimmer... I am stopped by this. A tree just outside my door. A … Continue reading What’s So Ordinary?
On Sunday, we drove for miles and miles. Endless miles. Eleven hours to be exact - from one end of the state to the other. Just the five of us, packed in a warm car, windows splashed with rain and highway dust. The wind blew hard against our wheels. Outside, the clouds hung thick and stormy over the Central California farmlands. … Continue reading Endless Miles, Endless Sky
There were a lot of tears this morning, my friends. My daughter insisted that she wear her favorite white dress shoes to her Thanksgiving Feast at preschool. Her heart was set on these shoes, only these shoes. But these beloved favorites have become a size too small. "Does it hurt?" I asked her. "No it fits, Mommy!" she mustered, clearly in … Continue reading How Will You Breathe This Season?
In two weeks, the advent begins. It seems all things Christmas explode even before I sit down to have a Thanksgiving meal. But though the world rushes in, I can't help but notice, the earth cries for a pause. The wind blows as if something is coming. Winter blankets the earth as if to hush it quiet ... as if to … Continue reading When a Merry Christmas is Not Enough
Our little preschooler has become such an expert in matters, that she loves to ask questions to test our facts. "What has a big long gray trunk, a tail, and three legs?" she asked the other night. My husband, mother-in-law, and I glanced at each other puzzled. "Three legs?" we asked her. "Yes, three legs," she repeated … Continue reading When Elephants Have Three Legs
I may be Asian-American, hair as black as night, but one of my favorite literary characters is Anne Shirley ... yes, red-haired, freckled face Anne of Green Gables. Some years ago, for our first anniversary, my husband surprised me with a trip to see Lucy Maud Montgomery's homestead in gorgeous Prince Edward Island, Canada. This was … Continue reading Backyard Graces and a New Day
invited by grace 