Bare Feet in Frog Fruit

Bare Feet in Frog Fruit

September rolled in and rolled out on a King Tide. In between it seemed to creep. Slow time bookended by rising sea. I drove east today. Unplanned and entirely needed. What used to be near-endless pasture is all neat rows of identical houses now. I couldn’t breathe until I passed it. Once it hit the [...]

Seven Summers

We have braced for the flood of wedding vow promises - for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health - and emerged from each deluge gasping and holding tight. We did not begin with any naive illusion of ease, but we did underestimate the possibility of growing such strength. Perhaps because, [...]

Living Things

Part One: I didn’t hear any wheezing or see breathing struggles. But I did see a strangely pale face and expressionless eyes. Like someone had flipped a switch to drain the color and energy from her vivacious self. I knew something was wrong. But when I left for the ER, I still expected to return [...]

Three Risen Loaves

Three Risen Loaves

What does it mean when the bread rises higher than it ever has on the day we celebrate the greatest rising? I made three loaves and didn’t think of the significance of number until later. I scored the dough right before baking. It was then that I saw the marks and remembered… So here I [...]

There Is Much To Do

As the world burns, bleeds, and weeps - a ten year old finishes his first week of the fifth grade. Pencils litter geography lessons and long division. I begin gathering loose papers and stacking books. A journal falls open. Prompts mark the pages: “Things I’m grateful for...” and “Things I’m praying for...”. There, scrawled in [...]

Easter

It is well documented that Jesus was killed during the time of Passover. The connection between these events is deeply woven. It spans centuries, languages, and cultures. During the first Passover, lambs blood was used to mark the homes of Gods people while they were still held in slavery. Prophecies written centuries before the crucifixion [...]

He never fails.

Just after 1:00 o’clock in the morning, a three year old boy cried out in the dark. Flailing and shouting that he was scared. He was frantic and kicking and pleading to be held. I tried my best to contain his fear. Then I heard the cry of a baby who could only feel nearby [...]

Spin Cycle

The smell of Gain and dryer sheets is so thick I can feel it in my pores. A fan spins in rhythm with the massive dryers. l think of all the places I’ve watched my clothes spin. There was the laundry room in my dormitory building where I alternated between studying textbooks and the pages [...]

The seed provided.

Something sprouted up in my tiny garden that I didn’t recognize. It didn’t look like any of the plants growing around it. I couldn’t identify it by it's immature leaves. I hadn’t planted in that particular spot so I was confused. It grew a little more and seemed like it was starting to vine. Then [...]