Most life stories of great men open with their births. But in the case of the greatest Man ever born, a Man who was also God, the story starts with the actual moment of his conception.And what a poignant moment it was, when an angel told a young girl that she would bear a son and [...]
My husband and I hardly ever keep secrets. We tend to sit down and unburden our hearts to each other on our date nights, which occur quite regularly each week. We have rarely missed one of these occasions during our nearly 27 years of marriage. We relax by the fireplace in the winter and on the back [...]
I am studying a package of graham crackers with a quizzical eye. Although it is not obvious to the casual observer, I am actually engaging in a bit of philosophy as I lift a cracker and sniff it. It is now the eighth day of Lent, and what is going on is very predictable. I’ve given [...]
Names are extremely important, and if you disagree, ask someone whose surname is Pig. Then compare that person's life experiences with someone named Jones. As for me, I am perfectly fine with my married surname, which is Murray, but I wish people would stop automatically sticking "Ms." in front of it. I would like very much [...]
Picture a church with its neat little steeple, and the nattily dressed congregation dashing in the door. Picture the perfect scenario: People drawn to church because there is some longing deep in their hearts that makes them want to gather and worship God.In this flawless church, note the crisp hymnals, all neatly aligned, the tidy prayer [...]
It’s always a bit disconcerting to run into your younger self. That’s what happened last week as I was walking to my morning job at the theology library at Emory University, and a young woman and I struck up a conversation. As we walked, I asked her where she was heading, and it turned out to [...]
I recently had one of those big birthdays. One where your odometer turns over and the numbers scream out: You are old! I decided to accept aging in a graceful way, rather than making a big fuss about it. I would not act like a woman obsessed with youthfulness. Instead, I would cherish each passing year, [...]
Many of my most bitter complaints open with the remark, “I hate to complain but…” Well, the temperature is 17 degrees in Decatur, Georgia, and I am sitting at my part-time job in the theology library, where the heating vent is broken and the nearby door keeps opening. I hate to complain, but I’m cold! And [...]
The hamster looked a bit frazzled. There’s something wrong with Flannery,” I said to my husband. “She doesn’t seem her usual cheery self.” We had been through this before with other hamsters, and we knew a hamster’s life span is rather short. But we weren’t ready to bid this one farewell. You see, our 4-year-old grand [...]
Back in the days when I was a ferocious feminist and fallen-away Catholic, I jumped on board the “child-free” bandwagon. As a married woman who clung tightly to the use of birth control, I couldn’t come up with a compelling reason to stop using it. I didn’t believe that children were a gift from God, since [...]
