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The Altar of Her Life
photo by Dana Ross Martin An ending and a beginning overlapped for me recently. In the same weekend that I said “good-bye” to a dear friend who moved to another state, I joined a new retreat ministry and blessed the threshold of a new beginning. Experiencing these two events back-to-back felt, at first, like emotional…
My body talks to me. It’s pretty blunt. I still manage to gloss over its requests, thinking that ignoring my body will make it grow quiet… silly me. This week my throat complains. It’s so constrained I can barely swallow. “We’re stuck, honey,” it says, not unkindly. You see, my throat isn’t trying to…
“In the beginning…” Culture, science and religion offer us versions of “the beginning.” I grew up in a Christian church and culture that had it’s own story that didn’t resonate on every level, but had familiarity going for it. It hadn’t occurred to me to try to write a creation story for myself. But that’s what seven…
I visited my Alma Mater last week. Reliving those angst filled formative years offered unexpected gifts. I was once ashamed of my college experience – or seeming lack thereof. I was so timid. I struggled to enjoy plastic solo cups and crowded rooms. I tried to understand the appeal, but efforts to fit in left…
When I worked in parish ministry, and still when I preside at weddings, I am often confused for someone else – the secretary, the photographer, the wedding planner, or a bridesmaid. I don’t mind. I don’t wear my priesthood on my sleeve. I grew up with men at the altar and it took me time…
I’m frugal. It’s both my nature and the result of working for churches and nonprofits my entire adult life. It can be hard for me to spend money on things deemed necessary. So when it was time to turn our mud puddle of a yard into something more inviting I struggled. “I need green growing…
My miracle baby turned one yesterday. It has been a blissful year full of peace and contentment. I thinned out my life to make room for all that once suffocated. I have savored moments in their simplicity without rushing to the next. I am a better mother for it, a better person. But restlessness begins…
Most new babies come into the world cloaked in celebration and the chattering of new life. What my faith and experience has taught me, though, is where there is something new being born, something old is dying. After spending a couple of weeks with my new-mama sister I was reminded of the sacrificial face of…
She who never stopped talking; she who whipped me with her uniform knee socks; she who can still push my buttons like a master engineer and make me laugh until I pee… my sister became a mother today. I anticipated this event long before I even knew she was pregnant, but I love how the…
Jessica Gazzola 