I call myself a good listener, but it’s not usually my default position, like, ever. Sure, I open my ears up to hear what the other person is actually saying. Sometimes I clamp my hand over my mouth so I don’t interrupt a drawn out story of surprising lament, but really, I’m just waiting – […]
Author: Cara Meredith
The Birds and the Bees and Belonging as a Family
“Mama, where do babies come from?” I stared at my five-year old son: he wasn’t really asking me about the birds and the bees, now was he? He looked at me, eyes wide in expectation. “Well buddy,” I replied, taking a deep breath, “babies come from their mommies’ tummies.” I felt far from ready for […]
Book Awakenings
Some people have spiritual awakenings. I have book awakenings. Now, don’t get me wrong: I love me some Jesus (and more importantly, some Jesus loves me), but for purposes of this post, books have oftentimes been the soul-waking catalyst in my story. I learned to read in the first grade, a fact that felt neither […]
An Afternoon of Lectio Divina
Sometimes I miss lectio divina most of all. Years ago, when I first began serving in full-time ministry, a woman named Terry invited me over to her house for an afternoon of lectio divina. I didn’t really understand what she was talking about, but I did understand that I liked Terry, so her invitation was […]
Aftermaths of the Purity Movement
Sex, we were told, was bad. We weren’t to have sex and we weren’t to express ourselves sexually. We weren’t to wear clothes that would make others think about sex, and we certainly weren’t supposed to think about sex ourselves. For sex, they told us over and over again, was a sacred act, a covenant […]
When We Want It All
I want it all. I want to do it all, I want to have it all, I want to be it all. The problem, of course, exists in the fact that not only is this way of thinking absolutely impossible, but it’s also wholly unrealistic and unhealthy. So, I’m learning, as a late thirty-something year […]
Becoming Gap-Bearers
There comes a point at which we stand in the gap, with and for each other, when we can’t bridge the gap ourselves. We get sick, in body and in head. Our schedules are eaten up by deadlines and assignments and responsibilities – by all the Really Good Things we’ve said a hearty “yes” to. […]
Romance Novels, Old Hymns and Waiting for Redemption Alike
I read my first romance novel this past week. Let me clarify: it wasn’t actually the first if you count me accidentally reading Fifty Shades of Gray, because I’d seen it on the New York Times Bestseller list, and book one of the Outlander series, because a friend had said the Showtime version was nothing short […]
The Comfort of Saying Hello
There’s comfort in saying hello. You see, lately, my life has felt marked by a slew of goodbyes. A couple of months ago, my husband was offered an incredible job promotion nine hundred miles away. As commuting hundreds of miles a day isn’t for the faint of heart – and because I can take care […]
Would the Real Christian Please Stand Up?
For a long time, I questioned what justice had to do with Christianity. I know. It probably sounds as ridiculous to your ears as it does to mine, but this was the school of thought I ascribed to when it came to matters of faith. I remember milling around the Back to School Fair the […]
Who is the Real Me?
I am ten years old. I love to read books. I love to hang out with my friends. I’m one of the smartest students in my class. I’m also painfully shy. In class, I raise my hand when the teacher calls my name, but it’s like my insides betray me. My mouth stammers out an […]
Reason, season, lifetime.
My list of best friends used to be long. I’d prattle off a list of 20, 30 names, believing each person held and knew and understood a different part of my core. I’d count the number of weddings I’d been not only a bridesmaid in, but also a maid of honor in, not-so-secretly believing my […]
Getting My Omnivore On
I’ve been rather omnivorous lately. Omnivores, as you may recall from seventh grade Life Science class, feed on both plants and animals. While someone might be omnivorous and be known to feed on just about anything in sight, omnivores aren’t likely to gorge on margherita pizza. Or drink a glass of wine after dinner. Or […]
How I Found Creativity After Being the DIY Queen
Creativity is a privilege. I wouldn’t have made such a statement five, ten years ago. I probably would have said that creativity is something we’re born with, that not being able to pass by your local Hobby Lobby without going inside may be a good indication that the Creativity Fairy has taken up residence in […]
Why I Don’t Like to Think About Repentance Now
I slammed a door this morning. On purpose. Somehow, someway, it seemed better to take my frustration out on an inanimate wooden object than to yell or scream or pummel my fists in the air, Billy Blanks, two-year-old tantrum-style. Really, the messiness of my morning is a confession of sorts. It’s my way of telling […]
Learning to Wait at the DMV
Sometimes I feel like I spend entire days in wait: for traffic lights to turn green, for e-mail responses to come, for naptime to come so I can get a couple hours of writing and “me” time in. For the heart-pounding class at the gym to finally come to a close, for my husband to […]
When We All Just Want to Be Known
Fifty of us invaded their driveway on Tuesday night. Card tables and ice chests and camping chairs decorated the pavement, along with stacks of paper plates and plastic silverware and Red Solo cups. The grill sizzled, red and gray coals in wait for chicken apple sausages and hot dogs from the local butcher. We scrawled […]