by Meadow Rue Merrill | Dec 27, 2019 | Faith Notes |
It is a year that I am not sorry to see go. The personal losses have been too high, the political climate too volcanic, the rewards of hard work seemingly too few and far between. So it was only fitting that my husband broke a rib one day before Christmas, temporarily confining him to the couch, and we all got sick.
by Meadow Rue Merrill | Jan 1, 2018 | Book Reviews, Faith Notes |
As a young adult, my New Year’s resolutions often involved reading through the Bible in a year or praying for a prescribed number of minutes or hours – Yes, hours! – per day. Inevitably, I fell short, as did my resolutions to drop a certain number of pounds, exercise for a certain number of hours, or finish writing a certain-length manuscript. As lofty as such goals are, they typically run hard into reality, and reality usually wins.
by Meadow Rue Merrill | Jan 6, 2017 | Faith Notes |
If your heart has not been pulverized by sorrow, disappointment and injustice by the time you reach midlife, you are either sorely disconnected or extremely lucky. During the first week of this new year, I find myself wanting to lay my head down and weep at the hardships that encompass from within and without. I have much to be thankful for – a safe home, the love of my family and a few close friends, opportunities to pursue meaningful work. But along the way, the losses and regrets and awareness of my own limitations have snowballed to such a degree that the utter weight and size of my sadness threatens to bury me.
by Meadow Rue Merrill | Jan 19, 2015 | Faith Notes, Monday Meditations |
Stepping into the new year without my mom feels like entering a strange and unmapped land. Nothing feels familiar. I am glad for the snow, pleased with the arctic frost that has descended, keeping me inside. As any farmer knows, winter is a time to rest, to re-gather...