Justice Will Be Sweet
I know life is not fair, but injustice rocks me to the core. I have to remind myself almost daily that this world does not have the last word when the scales of justice are knocked out of balance and are left uncorrected. It's not just a matter of principle. Real...
Count it joy
Count it joy is more than a suggestion for the Christian undergoing times of testing. It's more than a virtue exhibited by a mature believer. Counting it all joy is a vital discipline in the life of the genuine follower of Christ. It is in believing the trial has the...
Can you call it mercy?
Why didn't I think to call it mercy? Twenty-five years ago tomorrow, I gave birth to a miracle. In November 1993 I had nearly been killed in an interstate collision with an eighteen-wheeler. I was eight months pregnant with Molly at the time. Rushed to FGH in a jet...
A Thankful Heart: Three Lessons in Gratitude
As a good southern girl, along with lessons in making cornbread, the proper wearing of white, and saying ma’am and sir, I learned to write thank you notes. I was expected to express my appreciation in person for any thoughtfulness. But I would send a hand-written card...
Planting Hope: Finding hope in death
Accepting the death of a child is hard. Seeing hope in death is even more difficult. A recent experience with ailing flower bulbs helped me learn that finding hope in death comes when we're able to view burial of someone we love as planting with the expectation of...
Little Women Revisited
Little Women has long been one of my favorite books. When I read it the first time, I was probably the same age as Amy March, the youngest of the four sisters, at the beginning of the story. Now, for my most recent foray into the lives of the March family, I’m the...
Laughter: The Lighter Side of Life
We know when tears entered the human race. It’s impossible to imagine Adam and Eve, banished from paradise, dry-eyed and unmoved as they packed for a home among the thorns. Laughter? We don’t have the slightest clue about the first joke, mishap, or self-deprecating...
Edelweiss: Mountain Blooms
Edelweiss, the moving folk song from The Sound of Music, was one of Maggie's favorites, and she once performed it for a piano recital. The piece was chosen by Charlie Hardee as a fitting final tribute to a girl known for perseverance before the focus of the program...
New Life Leaf by Leaf
"but we will all be changed" I Corinthians 15:51 Today’s leaves are tomorrow’s mulch. That realization, made on the cusp of Maggie’s joy-filled though brief remission in 2016, led to the title and meaning of our website Leaf by Leaf. I had been overwhelmed by all she...
Flying: The Right Words
How can flying be like dying? How can the picture of flying serve as inspiration for one sister's thoughts on the approaching death of her only sister. Here's the story: When we called hospice to help us walk Maggie home, the house grew quiet except for the sound in...
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