I asked my students to write about something or someone they're thankful for. One thing. But then they asked if they could list more. Of course I told them they could. Olivia Johnson (Age 15): Food and Drinks. I am very thankful to have the ability to eat whenever I want and to drink clean …
Tag: Jesus
This Happened. And I Choose to See it This Way.
First, some background. Like many writers, I'm an introvert. Which is to say, social situations give me the willies. Sometimes diarrhea. So when I was invited to participate in a Bible study with twenty other women, let's just say I was ambivalent. My dear friend brought me the study guide. The kind of book I …
Continue reading This Happened. And I Choose to See it This Way.
That Entirely Legal Thing I Did to Celebrate My One Year Brain Surgery Anniversary
In college, I was into modern dance, which was my introduction to the green room, to theatre, and to the adrenaline rush of performing. I loved the jack-hammering of my heart as I stood in the dark wings. I loved the blinding lights and the one or two dancers whose epic fits would make the …
Continue reading That Entirely Legal Thing I Did to Celebrate My One Year Brain Surgery Anniversary
Happy Brain Surgery Anniversary to Me
April 6th, 2018. It was the Cleveland Indians' home opener. I was at University Hospital having an opener of my own. Brain surgery. A year later the skin on my head is still tight. I often run my fingers along the dents in my skull. They can't be seen because my superhero surgeon managed to …
My Lightning
There once was a woman, a wife, a mother, a teacher, a writer, a child of God. In that order. She was interrupted. It was a lightning strike. (Your chances of that happening are like your chances of being stru—) Lightning: March 8th, in the middle of teaching a class. A brain tumor. After the strike …
Strong Enough
We’re all helpless. Sometimes it’s more obvious. I am Obvious, capital “O.” How I usually fool myself about helplessness is by doing hard things. Doing hard things makes me feel strong. I can overcome the next hard thing and the next...but with my tumor, there is no amount of running, no HIIT routine, no weightlifting …
What’s in my Mind, Besides a Tumor
The first time I recall being comforted by God, it was an intellectual decision. I was twenty and living in a section of SanDiego where you couldn't get a pizza delivered. Too dangerous. So when I heard the following logic my heart was soft to it: Imagine you are in an alleyway in a bad …
Pray for Me
I don't know how to start this, but I've always been a fan of the snapshot of the mind. Here is the snapshot of my mind. Contrary to what you may be thinking, this is not going to be funny. Some of you I know in life, and some are my friends through this blog. Either way, …
Christmas. Finished.
On linen and straw lay a birth and a death. God hedged by flesh shepherds, magi. ∞ It pleases us to imagine God just born, vulnerable delivery's slick dross clings the ache of mortality. ∞ It's comfortable: God on bovine-scented straw held in woman's arms and a lowly one at that. ∞ It's Christmas: …
Journey to Bethlehem
The woman winced. Again. Her breath took on a raggedness. Her words broke through clenched teeth. "How much farther?" "Not much, Woman." He'd been mentally referring to her as woman since he found out. It helped. The woman was pregnant. The woman had a special touch from God. He was not to abandon the woman. Woman was …
KL Griffiths 