Ladybean Tabatha turned our calendar pages from May to June on the day I’m writing this. It arrived so fast. One day I noticed the first robin shivering on the grass, then a batch of newly hatched tent caterpillars on the flowering plum, and after that, barely-there buds on the …
We have and we hold the stuff we all feel we need to live. But as my husband has often reminded congregants, we dare not clutch it too tightly, because everything we own will one day end up in the landfill. Our neighbours’ fire provided a poignant reminder of that. They …
Today some of my readers didn’t have the luxury of waking at home, surrounded by the familiar, the comfortable, the beloved. Unwanted circumstances have transferred them elsewhere, and life’s ground feels, if not shaky, at least spongy. I understand. I love waking at home. Mostly. Today, the sun’s piercing rays …
A black-framed poster hangs in my sister Beverly’s home. In bold letters, it reads, “one kind word can change someone’s entire day” At the poster’s centre sits a picture of an antique typewriter. I noticed the art immediately during a recent week-long visit. But only on the morning the Preacher and …
My small and quiet (but extremely determined) mother adopted a baby several years before marrying my father at age 32. She later had three babies of her own, and chose a lifelong career of mothering. I’m beyond grateful for that. She and Dad fostered well into their eighties. I long …
I’m making friends with early morning again. We get re-acquainted each spring when the sun’s rays poke through the window of our bedroom and coax me early from under my blankets. Sometimes I wander over to that window and sing a Sonny Salsbury sung I learned long ago: “Good morning, …
Daughter Amanda had surgery recently. Her recovery requires stringent restrictions to allow full healing. No twisting. No bending. No vacuuming. No several other things. Worst of all, no lifting. Not a grocery bag, not the family cat, not a load of laundry. Not even one-year-old Ezra. Nothing heavier than a …
The clock said near midnight, and the speedometer read 100 km/hr. Snow fell lightly, giving just enough sheen in our headlight stream to slightly decrease visibility. And all down that dark country highway Friend Glenda and I munched popcorn and chatted to stay awake. She peered intently through the windshield …
Other than these columns, I spend most of my writing energy penning serious letters and emails, on behalf of the amazing politician I work for and with. I’m blessed to do it, and thank God I can. But some days, another vein of writing busts out, a less serious one. …
Ten years ago the Preacher was diagnosed with West Nile Neurological Disease. Five years ago, colon cancer, stage four, followed. This summer marks the point where he will be declared officially in remission. We’re so grateful. During the cancer journey, I wrote these words to praying friends: “Psalm 20:7 reads, …
