The Chosen Lady

On a very rainy November day in 1977, I was seven years old. My mom was unusually late picking me up from school As students began to trickle out to their waiting buses or parents, I was left behind Anxiety and fear started to gnaw at me A fellow seven year old neighborhood playmate, Susan, was left behind as well Selfishly, this made me feel better to have her familiar face as company The school seemed less dark and cavernous with her tiny red headed presence beside me I think Susan and I were both scared, but she seemed less so. Minutes feel like hours when you’re seven years old.…

I have been challenged this week by a dear friend and the Holy Spirit to examine my thoughts, and I want to share what I have learned. There’s a beautiful story in the Marine Corps Times I have been pondering, and I believe it’s worth sharing. In 1942, in response to the American amphibious landings in the eastern Solomon Islands on August 7, plans were hatched by Japanese Admiral Gunichi Makawa for a nighttime raid into Savo Sound to destroy the vulnerable American transports and cargo ships screening the Allied landing force. Throughout the night and early morning of August 8 and 9, the Japanese column slipped into the channel between Savo…

Well-meaning family, friends, or strangers tell me that I will heal or that God will heal me, as much as I believed that when my husband first died; now I have a much different perspective on healing.  Allow me to share my thoughts. Recently, my son Beck called me to say he was on his way to a local urgent care after breaking his finger at work.  As a mother of six boys, I know if they can personally call me, chances are they’ll be fine. I employ the British Ministry of Information motto – “Keep calm and carry on.”  Beck’s x-rays revealed the newly broken finger bone, but, like…

In June of 2017, Major League Baseball Umpire John Tumpane was walking across the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was returning to his hotel after jogging and lunch, thoughts of umpiring the evening game in his mind.  Suddenly he noticed a woman climbing over the railing of the 79-foot bridge. He asked other people, “What’s this lady doing?” They replied that they didn’t know. Tumpane broke into a run. Placing his hand on the woman’s shoulder, Tumpane asked her, “Hey, what’s going on?” She replied she was trying to get a better look at the city from the other side of the bridge.  Observing that the woman was…

Recently, some dear friends embarked on an extended road trip, and their itinerary took them through Cincinnati, Ohio. My curiosity was piqued,d and I decided to research the name Cincinnati to see if it was a Native American name. It was not, but the story behind it both surprised and warmed my heart. I relayed what I had learned to my friends and thought that was the end of it. My ‘random’ curiosity was God’s timing, as I would soon find out. I took my son Noah on a belated birthday outing, and we whiled away a rainy afternoon exploring the nearby American Independence Museum. The museum’s collection is home…

Today, all my pent-up anger, sorrow, and stress made their appearance known in bodily form. I woke up with a brain-splitting headache that turned me into a vomit comet before I could even set foot in the shower. I have a decades-long history with migraines, the kind that leaves me writhing in agony, waiting for my eyeball to explode out of my face and sometimes with a generous side order of panic attack. When my husband Barry was alive, he would lovingly take me to the hospital, and I’d be given a powerful cocktail of intravenous painkillers and sleep aids that would send me to a deep dreamless sleep. I…

My daughter Jordan introduced me to a “cringy” t.v. series on a streaming network. It’s an angsty coming-of-age drama in which a teen girl is torn between two handsome brothers. The genetically blessed brothers have muscles, magnetism, and trust funds. It’s endless summer at their tony Massachusetts set beach house. The backyard swimming pool is perpetually pristine, which anyone who lives in New England knows is ludicrous,s as there’s always, and I mean always, fallen leaves in the pool. Having driven up and down the eastern seaboard, I was shouting to Jordan within seconds, “There’s no way that’s Massachusetts! Bet me they filmed the show in Wilmington, North Carolina!” For…

Recently, my 17-year-old son Beck had to have his car repaired, and his insurance policy covered a rental car. However, because he’s six months shy of legal adulthood, I was the only one allowed to drive it. Beck had to make do with driving my minivan. Or as his dad used to call it, “The Shaggin’ Wagon Loser Cruiser.” I was excited to have the new car experience without any real financial commitment. I believed I would have the superior car for the week, judging by the rental’s exterior. I placed my car keys in Beck’s hand with a smirky grin and confidently walked across the parking lot to my…

At my high school graduation, there were the usual guest speakers who blabbed incessantly about reaching our potential, chasing our dreams, and other well-meaning inspirational drivel. I couldn’t tell you who the valedictorian was. None of the speeches were memorable to me. I do remember the overnight party held afterward, where the entire graduating class stayed up all night at a local private gym. We swam, watched movies, ate unhealthy food, and laughed a lot. In the morning, everyone was treated to a delicious pancake breakfast in the school gym. There were raffle prizes to win as well. I was ecstatic when my name was called, and they told me I’d…

Real estate is all about location, location, location. I wouldn’t choose any other place to live because I really like living next to my granddaughter, Lyra. When my husband was alive, he relished his role as her Grandpa and would often take her with him on errands. Sometimes he would create errands he didn’t need to do, just to have sweet moments with her. She would gladly be his passenger princess. Barry took Lyra to the shoe store to buy her new sneakers, making sure to honor her request for ‘light up shoes,’ which she promptly modeled for everyone. Eat your heart out, Dorothy Gale; your ruby slippers are no…