The night before it all fell through my husband had a dream that skated on the edge between sleep and wakefulness. The kind where you think your dream-life actually happened, only to wake and find it never existed at all. He was holding her, a girl we planned to name Harper, sleeping on his chest….
Tag: Motherhood
Becoming Aware of Terror
I heard the sniffling before I saw her. She descended the last step of the stairs and revealed her flushed, tear-streaked face. “What is wrong?” I implored. She replied, to my surprise, “I am so scared of the people who bombed the towers.” My heart ached, and my compassion for her late night fear was…
Confronting Unbelief
Free association tests are no longer exclusive to psychotherapy offices. We click on them when social networking sites claim they will reveal our personalities, and play them as party games. These enjoyable games act as simple exercises to awaken the creative parts of the brain, sometimes bogged down by the frantic call of business, duty,…
The Broken, Steadfast Heart
“Adult Medical Emergency! Adult Medical Emergency!” I stared incredulously at the lady calling out these words over the PA system. Before I could regain my composure, a nurse was behind me compassionately commanding that I sit in the wheelchair she had parked and locked into place behind me. Seconds later I was flanked by another…
Dreams Remodeled
About five years ago, after paperwork, paint samples, and hurried home inspections a nearly 90 year old, less-than-900 square foot cottage received its new resident dreamers. Few people had visited the old charmer, despite it’s “character”, because time had taken it’s toll. Toll that would require a whole lot of work. Goldenrod Formica, that oh…
Gentleness,Motherhood, and the Ways of Jesus
Since the day I became a mother, the value of gentleness has been impressed upon my heart. I have observed many mothers as they parent their children. I watch, and I learn. I knew early on that one quality I deeply desired to emulate was that of the grace of gentleness. Before I even had…
Hope for Mom
The crowd was a-buzz. Well-wishers, families settling into their seats, and most better dressed than a normal week. I knew the moment was coming. The opening song rang through the sanctuary, and I felt a dread sweep through me. I had experienced it before, each year it had taken on new and different dimensions. It…
The Undomesticated Housewife
I have been a housewife/domestic engineer/stay-at-home-mom for over ten years, and I cherish and appreciate the blessing of being able to be with my kids full time. I know not everyone has the opportunity to do it, and not everyone wants to. As for me, I will always be grateful for these years spent with…
Ready or Not
Author: Chara Donahue I was in labor. All day I had paced my new apartment as dear friends helped me unpack boxes and deck the walls with pictures and trinkets. They inquired about where to put things as I kept track of the protracted pains separated by mere minutes. We had just moved to accommodate…
Dear Sunday School Teacher
Author: Chara Donahue Dear Sunday School Teacher, I recently told my children that we would be transitioning away from our home church in order to multiply the ministry we are a part of. Two kids cried and one outright refused to leave. She declared that we could drop her off on our way to wherever…
Anchored Voices 