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Why You Don’t Need Countless Friends (and What You Need to Count On in a Few)
My voice rings throughout the house: Faith! Cora! I hear nothing in return from my daughter and her friend. I walk out the front door calling their names again, then I immediately hear laughte...
Strangers Together
Beatriz* came to our church with a little boy trailing behind her, a child from a brief relationship she’d had soon after coming to the U.S. Pregnant with another little boy, she walked hesitan...
How Vulnerability Can Lead to Sweet Unexpected Friendship
We sat across from each other at a small table surrounded by glass displays of bakery treats lining bubblegum-pink walls. Everything in the cupcake bakery screamed too sweet and too bright. To me...
Remembering That Everyone Is Fighting a Battle
Getting ready to get back on the highway after grabbing an iced tea at a rest stop, I glanced at my phone. I was on my way to my largest speaking engagement to date, and a text message from my fa...
When You Need to Hear a Mama’s Voice
“Choose three words to describe yourself,” I said to her. She was fifteen and broken, her heart wearing scars and still bleeding out of old wounds. Her world was one I’d never known. “You...
Relationships That Surprised Me – How My Vision Changed with Age
There is a look that teenagers only give to their mamas – a combination of disgust accompanied by an eye roll and often a sigh. A look that conveys, How can you be so stupid? Maybe not all ma...
Christ Brings Beauty to Our Ashes
Four years after my dad died, I sucked in my breath and blinked away tears of grief while on a preschool field trip with my daughter. It was so thoroughly unexpected, like a surprise visitor knoc...
The Panhandler’s Breath
He slipped in sideways between the closing elevator doors, as if he were late to a meeting; he pressed the “5” without looking. Instead of suit and tie, though, baggy pants and faded navy hun...
Divine Silence
We arrived at our friends’ home, nestled in the majestic mountains of western China, completely unprepared. Grandmother opened the door for us, unable to hold back her tears. We followed her to...
You’re Kind of a Big Deal; Well, Maybe Not. It’s Complicated.
A few months ago, I attended a dinner celebrating the launch of a friend’s first book. It was a glorious night. A beaming yet humble hostess, delicious food, and fun conversation wafted the atm...
When You Have to Say the Hard Thing
My palms were a little bit sweaty as I sat at the coffee shop just down the street from my house. I had walked there, just a few minutes from where I live, but it felt much longer than usual. I c...
Just Be Kind
I was scrolling through my social media feed recently when, yet again, I came across some very hurtful comments. I am shocked at how mean people can be. I mean really shocked. Stories so heartbre...
Fancy’s Feathers
We had lived on our little family farm for only a few months when I had to take one of our hens, Fancy, to the vet, Dr. Bird. {I’m not making that up. I even asked the vet if that was his real...
On the Surface of Pain
Your birthday is tomorrow and I have a few things I guess I have to get out of me. I want you to know that I know you didn’t know how to love me. And yea, you broke my heart, but you were brok...
I’ve Never Been Told That Before
Clutching the crisp, white note, I held my 20-year-old breath as I reread the words scribbled on the stationery by my University’s Admissions Director. “Jennifer, thank you for your servant ...
Hairline Fractures of the Heart
Standing four feet away from his target, my son tossed his fork into the kitchen sink. He didn’t see the juice glass already sitting there. I knew what was going to happen before it happened bu...